Alison Thewliss Portrait

Alison Thewliss

Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central

First elected: 7th May 2015

Shadow SNP Spokesperson (Home Affairs)

(since December 2022)

51 APPG memberships (as of 1 Nov 2023)
Afghanistan, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax, Birth Trauma, British Hindus, British Sikhs, Broadband and Digital Communication, Channel 4, Conception to Age Two - First 1001 Days, Domestic Violence and Abuse, Drug Policy Reform, Fair Business Banking, Fairgrounds and Circuses, Financial Markets and Services, Fuel Poverty and Energy Efficiency, Hazaras, HIV and AIDS, Hospitality and Tourism, Immigration Detention, Indo-British, Industrial Heritage, Infant Feeding and Inequalities, International Students, Jazz, Kabaddi, Leasehold and Commonhold Reform, Lithuania, Liver Disease and Liver Cancer, Malawi, Maternity, Mortgage Prisoners, Ovarian Cancer, Refugees, Slovakia, Somaliland, Sport, Stem Cell Transplantation and Advanced Cellular Therapies, Students, Tackling Loneliness and Connected Communities, Theatre, Ticket Abuse, United Nations Women, Universal Credit, University, Water Safety, Whistleblowing, White Ribbon UK, Women in Parliament, Women's Health, Working at Height, Yemen
30 Former APPG memberships
Bahá'í Faith, Basketball, Building Communities, Cameroon, Domestic Violence, Excluded UK, Fairs and Showgrounds, Gaps in Support, Haemophilia and Contaminated Blood, Home Electrical Safety, Hospitality, Inclusive Growth, Jazz Appreciation, Limits to Growth, Loneliness, Markets, Museums, Responsible Tax, Sex Equality, Sexual Violence, Sikhs, Smart Cities, Social Media, Stem Cell Transplantation, Sustainable Built Environment, Swimming, Terminal Illness, Unpaid Work Trials, Votes at 16, White Ribbon Campaign
Treasury Committee
2nd Mar 2020 - 16th Jan 2023
Treasury Sub-Committee on Financial Services Regulations
20th Jun 2022 - 16th Jan 2023
Shadow SNP Spokesperson (Treasury)
20th Jun 2017 - 12th Dec 2022
Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill
19th Oct 2022 - 29th Nov 2022
Treasury Committee Sub-Committee on Financial Services Regulations
20th Jun 2022 - 20th Jun 2022
Finance (No.2) Bill
8th Dec 2021 - 11th Jan 2022
Shadow SNP Spokesperson (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
1st Jul 2018 - 7th Jan 2020
Treasury Committee
10th Jun 2019 - 6th Nov 2019
Draft Registration of Overseas Entities Bill (Joint)
19th Feb 2019 - 6th Nov 2019
Procedure Committee
20th Nov 2017 - 24th Jun 2019
Shadow SNP Spokesperson (Cities)
20th May 2015 - 1st Jul 2018
Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
13th Jul 2015 - 3rd May 2017
Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee
13th Jul 2015 - 3rd May 2017


There are no upcoming events identified
Division Votes
Monday 4th December 2023
Victims and Prisoners Bill
voted Aye - in line with the party majority
One of 29 Scottish National Party Aye votes vs 0 Scottish National Party No votes
Tally: Ayes - 246 Noes - 242
Written Answers
Monday 4th December 2023
Immigration: Applications
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many allowed (a) entry clearance and (b) in-country appeal …
Early Day Motions
Thursday 9th November 2023
PEEK project ball 2023
That this House recognises the success of the Possibilities for Each and Every Kid (PEEK) project's Haunted Hollywood fundraising ball …
Bills
Wednesday 14th March 2018
Supervised Drug Consumption Facilities Bill 2017-19
The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will …
MP Financial Interests
Monday 20th March 2023
3. Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources
Name of donor: Lawn Tennis Association Ltd
Address of donor: National Tennis Centre, 100 Priory Lane, Roehampton, London SW15 5JQ …
EDM signed
Monday 4th December 2023
60th anniversary of Dr Who
That this House congratulates Dr Who on reaching its 60th anniversary; welcomes the inclusive and diverse nature of the 60th …
Supported Legislation
Tuesday 15th November 2022
Tax Reform Commission Bill 2022-23
A Bill to establish a commission to assess the differential impact of the tax system in the UK on different …

Division Voting information

During the current Parliamentary Session, Alison Thewliss has voted in 599 divisions, and never against the majority of their Party.
View All Alison Thewliss Division Votes

Debates during the 2019 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Lindsay Hoyle (Speaker)
(59 debate interactions)
Rishi Sunak (Conservative)
Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
(57 debate interactions)
Robert Jenrick (Conservative)
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
(49 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
HM Treasury
(422 debate contributions)
Home Office
(207 debate contributions)
Cabinet Office
(71 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
Legislation Debates
Financial Services Bill 2019-21
(26,272 words contributed)
Finance Act 2020
(20,987 words contributed)
Illegal Migration Act 2023
(14,403 words contributed)
View All Legislation Debates
View all Alison Thewliss's debates

Glasgow Central Petitions

e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.

If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.

If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).

Petition Debates Contributed

The Government should bring forward legislation to allow assisted dying for adults who are terminally ill and have mental capacity. It should be permitted subject to strict upfront safeguards, assessed by two doctors independently, and self-administered by the dying person.

Every year across the UK, millions of farmed animals are kept in cages, unable to express their natural behaviours and experiencing huge suffering. These inhumane systems cannot be the future of British farming. The UK Government must legislate to ‘End the Cage Age’ for all farmed animals.

Current legislation allows for public use of fireworks 16 hours a day, every day, making it impossible for vulnerable groups to take precautions against the distress they can cause. Better enforcement of existing law is insufficient; limiting their sale & use to licensed displays only is necessary.

Every year more and more people, animals and wildlife get hurt by fireworks. It’s time something was fine to stop this. There are enough organised firework groups around for us to still enjoy fireworks safely so please help me stop the needless sale of them to the public!

In light of the recent outbreak and lock down, those on maternity leave should be given 3 extra months paid leave, at least. This time is for bonding and social engaging with other parents and babies through baby groups which are vital for development and now everything has been cancelled.


Latest EDMs signed by Alison Thewliss

29th November 2023
Alison Thewliss signed this EDM on Monday 4th December 2023

60th anniversary of Dr Who

Tabled by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow)
That this House congratulates Dr Who on reaching its 60th anniversary; welcomes the inclusive and diverse nature of the 60th anniversary episode; notes the long history of Doctor Who breaking barriers in inclusion in gender and diversity including the recent positive representation of trans people; further notes the pleasure and …
23 signatures
(Most recent: 4 Dec 2023)
Signatures by party:
Labour: 15
Scottish National Party: 3
Plaid Cymru: 3
Liberal Democrat: 1
Democratic Unionist Party: 1
27th November 2023
Alison Thewliss signed this EDM as a sponsor on Thursday 23rd November 2023

Rwanda asylum scheme and the UK's legal obligations

Tabled by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
That this House celebrates the role the United Kingdom has played in helping to shape the international rules based order, including its contribution to the drafting and early ratification of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in the aftermath of the horrors of WWII; notes the recent judgment of …
17 signatures
(Most recent: 4 Dec 2023)
Signatures by party:
Labour: 7
Scottish National Party: 3
Plaid Cymru: 3
Green Party: 1
Liberal Democrat: 1
Social Democratic & Labour Party: 1
Alliance: 1
Independent: 1
View All Alison Thewliss's signed Early Day Motions

Commons initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Alison Thewliss, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.

MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.


3 Urgent Questions tabled by Alison Thewliss

2 Adjournment Debates led by Alison Thewliss

2 Bills introduced by Alison Thewliss


The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will make no further progress. A Bill to make provision about supervised drug consumption facilities; to make it lawful to take controlled substances within such facilities in specified circumstances; and for connected purposes

Commons - 20%

Last Event - 1st Reading: House Of Commons
Wednesday 14th March 2018
(Read Debate)

A Bill to control the advertising and promotion of feeding products for babies and children; to establish arrangements to set standards for the efficacy of products and to measure claims against those standards; to make provision about penalties for advertisers and promoters who do not meet the standards; and for connected purposes.

Commons - 20%

Last Event - 1st Reading: House Of Commons
Wednesday 16th November 2016
(Read Debate)

21 Bills co-sponsored by Alison Thewliss

Tax Reform Commission Bill 2022-23
Sponsor - Liz Saville Roberts (PC)

Energy Costs (Pre-payment Meters and Social Tariffs) Bill 2022-23
Sponsor - Kenny MacAskill (Alba)

Electricity Supply (Vulnerable Customers) Bill 2022-23
Sponsor - Sam Tarry (Lab)

Shared Prosperity Fund (Wales) Bill 2021-22
Sponsor - Ben Lake (PC)

Workers (Definition and Rights) Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Chris Stephens (SNP)

School Toilets (Access During Lessons) Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Layla Moran (LD)

Problem Drug Use Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Tommy Sheppard (SNP)

Gaming Hardware (Automated Purchase and Resale) (No. 2) Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Douglas Chapman (SNP)

Covid-19 Financial Assistance (Gaps in Support) Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Tracy Brabin (LAB)

Automated External Defibrillators (Public Access) Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Jim Shannon (DUP)

Assaults on Retail Workers (Offences) Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Alex Norris (LAB)

Dockless Bicycles (Regulation) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Daniel Zeichner (Lab)

Parental Leave (Premature and Sick Babies) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - David Linden (SNP)

Parental Leave and Pay Arrangements (Publication) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Jo Swinson (LD)

Green Deal (Conduct of Home Energy and Lifestyle Management Ltd) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Alan Brown (SNP)

Food Insecurity Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Emma Lewell-Buck (Lab)

Universal Credit (Application, Advice and Assistance) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Philippa Whitford (SNP)

Child Maintenance Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Marion Fellows (SNP)

Unpaid Trial Work Periods (Prohibition) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Stewart Malcolm McDonald (SNP)

Courts (Abuse of Process) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Liz Saville Roberts (PC)

Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill 2016-17
Sponsor - Liz Saville Roberts (PC)


424 Written Questions in the current parliament

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
2 Other Department Questions
11th Feb 2021
To ask the President of COP26, what steps he is taking to engage with the residents of Glasgow Central in preparation of the COP26.

Glasgow businesses and residents play a crucial role in the delivery and overall success of an event such as COP26. The Government is working with Glasgow City Council to engage local people around COP26 through local activations. We launched a Host City Volunteering programme in January to recruit volunteers at COP26, who will play a key role in representing Glasgow and the UK to delegates from around the world.

Through the ‘Get Ready Glasgow’ public information campaign, Glasgow City Council have developed an integrated and tailored programme of sustained and timely communication and engagement activities with local residents and businesses. This will inform them about the impacts on city operations and daily lives, and the opportunities presenting themselves to residents and local businesses by being the host city.

Through the 'Together for our Planet' campaign, the Government will continue engaging the whole country in the conversation around climate change leading up to COP26. The campaign will celebrate people across the UK already taking action and inspire more to join them.

Alok Sharma
COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
13th Jan 2021
What recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on supporting older people in accessing pension credit.

The Government wants to ensure that all eligible pensioners are able to claim Pension Credit. In May 2020, DWP launched a new online claim service. This offers an additional channel through which pensioners can be supported to make a claim with the help of family, friends and organisations.

Kemi Badenoch
President of the Board of Trade
10th May 2023
To ask the Attorney General, how many members of the public are subjected to automated decision-making in the Attorney General’s Office.

No members of the public are subject to automated decision-making in the Attorney General's Office.

Michael Tomlinson
Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
24th May 2023
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of removing international students from immigration statistics.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon. Member's Parliamentary Question of 24th May is attached.

1st Mar 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many communications staff in total are employed (a) full time, (b) part time and (c) with flexible working arrangements in the Government.

This information for the whole of government is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office.

1st Mar 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Government spends on the employment of communications staff annually.

This information for the whole of government is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office.

26th May 2020
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what emergency childcare provision is available to staff working in 10 Downing Street.

10 Downing Street is an integral part of the Cabinet Office. All Civil Servants that work at the Cabinet Office are able to access parental support policies, such as Parental Leave and Flexible Working.

With due consideration to COVID-19, Civil Servants are able to manage childcare arrangements with the support of paid special leave and flexible working, where alternative provisions cannot be found.

8th Jan 2020
To ask Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to his Written Statement of 20 December 2019, Official Report HCWS15, to which specific programmes and for which specific purposes he plans to allocate that cash advance from the Contingencies Fund.

The cash advance of £107.134 million will be noted in the Supplementary Estimate 2019-20. The Supplementary Estimate will be published in February 2020 and will detail each element of funding and its purpose.

Oliver Dowden
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
5th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the value of fines (a) issued and (b) paid for non compliance with the requirements of the Register of of Overseas Entities was as of 4 September 2023; and how many fines were (i) issued and (ii) paid as of 4 September 2023.

Before imposing a penalty, a warning notice must be issued. Over 1,200 notices have so far been issued. As of 4 September 2023, fourteen penalties have been issued for non-compliance with a value of circa £490,000, zero have been paid. A further five penalties were issued 6 September bringing the total value to £660,000.

Once the warning is issued, Companies House must allow 28 days for representation and factor in time to mitigate delays in the international postal system. Only after that point will Companies House issue the penalty. During these stages, compliance by the entity will cease the case. To date, forty warned entities have complied, meaning that no financial penalty will be imposed.

Kevin Hollinrake
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
5th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what (a) value and (b) number of fines have been issued against Scottish Limited Partnerships for failing to register a Person of Significant Control in each month since the relevant regulations came into force.

There have been 2 convictions of Scottish Limited Partnerships (SLPs) for failure to register information for Persons with Significant Control (“PSCs”) under The Scottish Partnerships (Register of People with Significant Control) Regulations 2017. The latest conviction was in August 2023.

The prosecuting authority is the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS). The Registrar is not advised of the level of the fine in each case. Up to 31 March 2023, Companies House have passed 106 cases to COPFS for prosecution. Companies House publish figures for “Prosecutions under the Scottish Partnerships (Register of People with Significant Control) Regulations 2017” as part of their management information. This is a link to the publication (see Table 7):

Companies House management information: April 2022 to March 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Kevin Hollinrake
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
5th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many qualifying Scottish Limited partnerships have not registered a person of significant control in each year since the requirement to do so came into force.

Further to the answer to a previous query on this topic (UIN 75983) tabled on 1 November 2022, as of 31 August 2023, Companies House considers 7,836 Scottish Limited Partnerships (‘SLPs’) on the register to be active. Of these 85 have failed to register information for persons with significant control. This compares to 201 on 31 October 2022, 203 SLPs in January 2022, 213 SLPs in October 2021, 828 in January 2021, 948 in January 2020, 2,019 in January 2019 and 7,078 in January 2018.

Kevin Hollinrake
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
19th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, was assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Energy Bill Support Scheme for people on low incomes.

The Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) GB delivered a £400 non-repayable government discount on electricity bills to all households with a domestic electricity meter, more than 28 million households in Great Britain.

The Department will carry out an evaluation of the EBSS after scheme closure.

Amanda Solloway
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
18th Apr 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many people have not taken up their entitlement to energy bills support scheme vouchers for prepayment meters in Glasgow Central constituency.

Reporting to the four months to January 31st, 2023, shows an estimated 31,210 Energy Bills Support Scheme traditional prepayment meter vouchers were issued to households in Glasgow Central, with 17,760 (57%) of these redeemed. October and November vouchers were valued at £66, and December and January’s were valued at £67 meaning the 13,450 unredeemed vouchers have a value of at least £887,700. Transparency data on Energy Bills Support Scheme GB payments made by electricity suppliers to customers is reported monthly and can be found at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-bills-support-scheme-payments-made-by-electricity-suppliers-to-customers.

Amanda Solloway
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
30th Jan 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many people have received support through the Energy Bill Support Scheme for (a) prepayment and (b) direct debit in Glasgow Central constituency.

Delivery data by region, local authority and Westminster parliamentary constituency will be published in the coming weeks.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
23rd Jan 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to regulate communal heat networks; and whether his Department plans to introduce price caps for consumers on communal heat networks.

The Energy Bill, introduced to Parliament in June 2022, contains measures that will introduce consumer protection regulations for heat networks across the UK and will appoint Ofgem as the regulator in Great Britain, including communal networks.

Ofgem will have powers to introduce rules and/or guidance on fair and consistent pricing, take enforcement action against disproportionately high pricing, and the ability to set price comparison and benchmarking methodologies.

The Secretary of State will hold powers to introduce a price cap into the market, balancing out the benefits of a price cap with the risks inherent in a nascent market.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
3rd Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, on what dates the procurement exercise for an ID verification contract for Companies House (a) opened and (b) closed.

Companies House is unable to procure an identity verification provider until the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency (ECCT) Bill has received Royal Assent. As such, the tendering exercise to procure an identity verification service has not yet begun.

To note, entirely separate to any ID Verification procurement exercises, Companies House did advertise a Digital Delivery Partner opportunity on GOV.UK Digital Marketplace from 10th October to 24th October 2022. This contracting opportunity relates to internal system changes that will move Companies House from the current model of multiple account services to a single log-in portal. Whilst this activity is an enabler for ID Verification, it is wholly distinct from any identity verification provider procurement exercise.

Kevin Hollinrake
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
3rd Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many fines have been levied in each of the past ten years for the offence of false filing to companies house, and what estimate he has made of the value of those fines.

In cases prosecuted by the Insolvency Service, the total number and value of fines imposed on a defendant, in each of the past ten years, for a General false statement offence, contrary to Section 1112 Companies Act 2006 is:

2012 - nil

2013 - nil

2014 - nil

2015 - nil

2016 - nil

2017 - nil

2018 - 1 x £1,602.00

2019 - 1 x £15,000.00

2020 - nil

2021 - nil

2022 - (up to 31 October) 1x £500.00

Kevin Hollinrake
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
1st Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many qualifying Scottish Limited partnerships have not registered a person of significant control in each year since the requirement to do so came into force.

Further to the answer given to the Hon. Member on this topic on 3rd March 2022 to Question 131219, as of 31 October 2022, Companies House considers 8,204 of the Scottish Limited Partnerships (‘SLPs’) on the register to be active. Of these, 201 had no PSC information. This compares to 203 SLPs as of 31 January 2022, 213 SLPs in October 2021, 828 in January 2021, 948 in January 2020, 2,019 in January 2019 and 7,078 in January 2018 that had failed to register PSC information.

Kevin Hollinrake
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
10th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has with Odey Asset Management in 2022.

Ministers regularly meet with external stakeholders. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly and can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/beis-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings.

The latest published data covers April to June 2022, further data will be published in due course.

10th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, on what basis the registered business address of STARYNX LP (LP022561) was amended to a Companies House default address by the Companies House Registrar.

The Registrar of Companies has no legislative power to move the principal place of business of a Limited Partnership to the Companies House default address. The address for Starnyx LP was changed by the Registrar in error. The Registrar is now urgently exploring options with the relevant parties to remedy the situation.

Whilst the Registrar is unable to do this now, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill, which was introduced to Parliament on 22 September 2022, proposes changes to provide the Registrar with a power to move the registered office of a Limited Partnership to the Companies House default address.

16th Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward proposals to strike off company directors who have been subject to economic sanctions.

In the Corporate Transparency and Register Reform White Paper published on 28 February 2022, the Government confirmed that it will introduce measures to void the appointment, and prevent the registration, of individuals acting as directors where they are subject to sanctions by virtue of being ‘designated persons’ under section 9 of the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018. The Government has committed to legislating on economic crime in the next session of this parliament.

16th Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential national security risks linked to the abuse of (a) Scottish Limited Partnerships and (b) Limited Partnerships.

The Government does not comment on the manner in which it monitors the activities of those who are, or may be, associated with hostile regimes. I would, however, like to assure the hon. Member that BEIS is working closely across Government to identify and mitigate any national security risks which might emanate from Russian activity in the UK.

16th Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate he has made of the number of (a) Scottish Limited Partnerships and (b) Limited Partnerships that have links to the Russian regime.

The Government does not comment on the manner in which it monitors the activities of those who are, or may be, associated with hostile regimes. I would, however, like to assure the hon. Member that BEIS is working closely across Government to identify and mitigate any national security risks which might emanate from Russian activity in the UK.

15th Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to help ensure that claims on the state back guarantee on bounce back loans are assessed for fraud risk.

The Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) Guarantee Agreement and subsequent recovery principles document outline the minimum fraud protection standards lenders were expected to adhere to. If a lender fails to apply these minimum standards, they cannot make a claim on the guarantee.

The British Business Bank, who manages the BBLS scheme on behalf of Government, maintains an ongoing lender audit assurance programme which provides insight into the effectiveness and adequacy of recoveries efforts by lenders. Where issues are identified the Bank can take remedial action.

9th Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many and what proportion of recipients of bounce bank loans have not yet started repayments of those loans.

As many borrowers are using “Pay as You Grow” options, it is not possible to provide a definitive figure for on-schedule payments for the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS). However, latest figures show that £2.04bn, or 4% of total facilities, have been repaid in full.

28th Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Scottish Limited Partnerships have been fined for failing to register a Person of Significant Control in each year since the requirement to register came into force; and what the value of those fines was.

One fine has been levied against a Scottish Limited Partnership for failing to register people with significant control since the register came into force. That fine was levied in the 2021/2022 Financial Year. A fine of £210 was imposed by the court.

28th Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Scottish Limited Partnerships failed to register a Person of Significant Control in each year since the requirement to register came into force.

Companies House considers 8,126 of the Scottish Limited Partnerships (‘SLPs’) on the register to be active as at 31st January 2022. Of these, 203 had no PSC information. This compares to 213 SLPs in October 2021, 828 in January 2021, 948 in January 2020, 2,019 in January 2019 and 7,078 in January 2018 who had failed to register PSC information.

1st Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish a list of all directors registered with Companies House organised by year of birth.

A snapshot of directors' details is available through Companies House bulk product (195), this includes month and year of birth.

16th Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Scottish Limited Partnerships have failed to register a Person of Significant Control in each of the last three years.

Companies House considers 8,070 of the Scottish Limited Partnerships (‘SLPs’) on the register to be active as at 31st October 2021. Of these, 213 SLPs have not filed PSC information. This compares to 948 in January 2020 and 2,019 in January 2019.

15th Oct 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the value was of fines levied against Scottish Limited Partnerships for failing to register people with significant control in each of the last three years.

One fine has been levied against a Scottish Limited Partnership for failing to register people with significant control in the current 2021/2022 Financial Year.

15th Oct 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many fines have been levied against Scottish Limited Partnerships for failing to register people with significant control in each of the last three years.

One fine has been levied against a Scottish Limited Partnership for failing to register people with significant control in the current 2021/2022 Financial Year.

19th Jul 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to require large private and public companies to produce a scenario analysis on the impacts that climate change will have on their business model and strategy.

The UK Government recently published a consultation on mandatory climate-related financial disclosures by publicly quoted companies, large private companies and LLPs. This covered our proposals on scenario analysis. This consultation closed on 5 May. We are carefully considering all of the responses to the consultation, and will publish a response by the end of the year.

In November 2020, the Government announced its intention to make Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures-aligned disclosures mandatory across the economy by 2025, and our Roadmap towards mandatory climate related disclosures will help ensure that the right information on climate-related risks and opportunities is available across the investment chain.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
19th Jul 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department plans to publish a Heat and Building Strategy.

As my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State set out in the BEIS Select Committee on 20th July 2021, the Government is planning to publish a Heat and Buildings Strategy in due course. The strategy will set out the immediate actions we will take for reducing emissions from buildings, as well as our approach to the key strategic decisions needed to achieve a mass transition to low-carbon heat.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
19th Jul 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department intends to require large (a) private and (b) public companies to make disclosures on Scope 3 emissions.

The Government supports the role of corporate transparency as an important part of delivering net zero. Indeed, the UK has led global efforts in introducing measures to increase corporate transparency, and in 2013 was the first country to make it compulsory for quoted companies to include global emissions data for their entire organisation in their annual reports; and in April 2019, these reporting requirements have been extended with the introduction of the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting Regulations, increasing tenfold the number of businesses required to publicly disclose their direct energy use and carbon emissions in annual reports.

Many businesses already measure and report their indirect/Scope 3 carbon emissions information under a range of voluntary schemes, and as part of the recently published consultation on Mandatory Climate-related Financial Disclosures, we sought views on whether Scope 3 emissions reporting should remain voluntary. The consultation closed on 5 May, and we are now considering carefully all of the responses to the consultation and a response will be published by the end of the year.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
30th Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations he has received from investors on the effect of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on UK shareholder’s voting rights in EU registered companies.

We have not had any representations from stakeholders on UK shareholder’s voting rights in EU registered companies.

UK investors and business owners should be aware that there may be changes to their ability to own, manage or direct a company registered in the EU from 1 January 2021. UK citizens that own or run business operations in an EU country may need to comply with different requirements (those which currently apply to other businesses from non-EU countries) in the country they are operating in. More information on this can be found on GOV.UK.

30th Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations he has received from energy providers based overseas on the effect of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on their investment plans in the UK.

The UK is one of the most open environments for investment across the world. According to the OECD, the UK is the third least restrictive nation amongst the G20. The UK-EU agreement will provide certainty and transparency to EU investors operating in the UK, and vice-versa.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
30th Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to seek a future agreement with the EU on energy markets.

The free trade agreement with the EU provides for cooperation on a range of energy matters in order to support and strengthen the UK and EU’s shared energy objectives. The UK and the EU are committed to cooperating closely on efficient trading, energy markets and access to networks. Other matters for cooperation include security of supply, future energy systems and the prevention of market abuse.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
30th Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to amend employment law in response to the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

As an independent, sovereign nation we are now ideally placed to capitalise on the wealth of opportunities available to us.

Commitments made in this trade agreement recognise our existing regulatory high standards. We have committed to maintain our high labour standards, whilst retaining flexibility for us to tailor our approach to what works for the UK. We want to go further than ever before to uphold workers’ rights, support UK businesses and ultimately boost productivity in the UK.

30th Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many (a) civil service and (b) senior civil service positions his Department has created in functions associated with the UK leaving the EU in each year since 2016; and whether his Department plans to create any such positions in 2021.

In 2016, the Department reprioritised an initial 100 staff (6 SCS) to work directly on EU exit preparations with more staff managing the wider implications of EU exit.

In 2017, a total of 450 staff (27 SCS) were working on EU exit preparations.

Between 2018-2020, HM Treasury funded ~850 staff (~50 SCS) to support EU exit and transition preparations. The wider number of staff involved in the Department’s preparations has fluctuated, with up to 1200 staff (~70 SCS) working on emerging EU Transition priorities.

We are in the process of implementing the Spending Review outcome for 2021-22 and have no plans to create new EU exit positions.

Amanda Solloway
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
9th Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the appropriateness of the eight week notice period mothers on maternity leave must give employers before returning to work and being placed on the Job Retention Scheme.

Maternity Leave is provided to enable employed pregnant women and new mothers to prepare for and recover from birth and bond with their child.

The eight week notice period for women returning to work before the end of Maternity Leave enables employers to plan around a woman’s return to work. This may include consideration of whether the individual should be placed on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), depending on the employer’s circumstances. The decision to furlough an employee is something that needs to be agreed between the employer and employee.

9th Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether mothers returning from maternity leave before the 31 Oct 2020 and were made redundant due to the original end date of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will be eligible to be rehired over winter 2020-21.

Employees that are made redundant or stopped working for an employer on or after 23 September 2020 can rehired and put back on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), provided that the employee was employed on 23 September 2020 and a PAYE RTI submission was made to HMRC between 20 March 2020 and October 2020.

9th Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the implications of the accrual of annual leave by mothers on maternity leave for women who have been furloughed through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

The Government has been clear that employment rights remain unchanged under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). Therefore, workers who are both on maternity leave and on furlough will continue to accrue annual leave as they would if they were not on furlough.

21st Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2020 to Question 1357, what the current status is of The Office for Product Safety and Standards fact-based evidence base on the key issues that have been raised on fireworks.

The Government does not have plans to bring forward additional legislative proposals on fireworks. There is a comprehensive regulatory framework already in place.

We are taking action to promote the safe and considerate use of fireworks, including a public awareness campaign on fireworks for this season involving safety charities, animal welfare organisations and retail bodies.

Product safety and liability are reserved matters. The regulation of fireworks for these purposes is covered by the Fireworks Regulations 2004 and the Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations 2015. The misuse and discharge of fireworks is a devolved matter to Scotland. Northern Ireland has its own fireworks regulatory framework. We continue to work closely with the Devolved Administrations to ensure the safety of the public across the UK.

21st Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to devolve legislation regarding fireworks.

The Government does not have plans to bring forward additional legislative proposals on fireworks. There is a comprehensive regulatory framework already in place.

We are taking action to promote the safe and considerate use of fireworks, including a public awareness campaign on fireworks for this season involving safety charities, animal welfare organisations and retail bodies.

Product safety and liability are reserved matters. The regulation of fireworks for these purposes is covered by the Fireworks Regulations 2004 and the Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations 2015. The misuse and discharge of fireworks is a devolved matter to Scotland. Northern Ireland has its own fireworks regulatory framework. We continue to work closely with the Devolved Administrations to ensure the safety of the public across the UK.

21st Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals on fireworks in the 2019-21 session of Parliament.

The Government does not have plans to bring forward additional legislative proposals on fireworks. There is a comprehensive regulatory framework already in place.

We are taking action to promote the safe and considerate use of fireworks, including a public awareness campaign on fireworks for this season involving safety charities, animal welfare organisations and retail bodies.

Product safety and liability are reserved matters. The regulation of fireworks for these purposes is covered by the Fireworks Regulations 2004 and the Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations 2015. The misuse and discharge of fireworks is a devolved matter to Scotland. Northern Ireland has its own fireworks regulatory framework. We continue to work closely with the Devolved Administrations to ensure the safety of the public across the UK.

2nd Mar 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Scottish Limited Partnerships have failed to register a Person of Significant Control in each of the last three years.

Companies House considers 10,800 of the Scottish Limited Partnerships (‘SLPs’) on the register to be active. Of these, 948 SLPs have not filed PSC information as at 31st January 2020.1 This compares to 2,019 in January 2019 and 7,078 in January 2018.

25th Feb 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many fines have been levied against Scottish Limited Partnerships for failing to register a Person of Significant Control in each of the last three years.

No Scottish Limited Partnerships (SLPs) have been fined since the People with Significant Control register came into force. Compliance is Companies House’s primary aim, rather than prosecution. It is taking action to ensure that all SLPs report their PSC information. Companies House is actively engaged with SLPs and their representatives to make them aware of their responsibilities. Failure to comply with the requirement to report PSC information does not incur a civil penalty but it is an offence and may lead to a fine or imprisonment upon prosecution. Companies House is not a prosecuting body and will refer cases to a relevant prosecutor when all other avenues have been exhausted and an SLP has not complied with their obligations.

25th Feb 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Scottish Limited Partnerships are qualifying under the terms of the Scottish Partnerships (Register of People with Significant Control) Regulations 2017 and the Companies and Partnerships (Accounts and Audit) Regulations 2013.

All registered Scottish Limited Partnerships (SLPs) are required to comply with the Scottish Partnerships (Register of People with Significant Control) Regulations 2017. As of 31 January 2020, there were 34,245 live1 Scottish limited partnerships (“SLPs”) on the register. Of these, Companies House considers around 10,800 of these SLPs to be active. These regulations also require a Scottish qualifying partnership (SQP) to register with Companies House and deliver information concerning its People with Significant Control (PSC). A SQP is a general partnership constituted under the law of Scotland that is a qualifying partnership under the Partnership (Accounts) Regulations 2008. As at the end of January 2020, there were 330 Scottish Qualified Partnerships bodies that declared as being eligible as SQPs.

  1. Live Scottish Limited Partnerships refers to Scottish Limited Partnerships that are not dissolved/closed. Under current legislation, Scottish Limited Partnerships are unable to dissolve/close or be removed from the register. Therefore, this will include on the register a significant volume that have not carried out any activity.
25th Feb 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the value was of fines levied against Scottish Limited Partnerships for failing to register a Person of Significant Control in each of the last three years.

No such fines have been levied against Scottish Limited Partnerships. Compliance is Companies House’s primary aim, rather than prosecution. It is taking action to ensure that all SLPs report their PSC information. Companies House is actively engaged with SLPs and their representatives to make them aware of their responsibilities. Failure to comply with the requirement to report PSC information does not incur a civil penalty but it is an offence and may lead to a fine or imprisonment upon prosecution. Companies House is not a prosecuting body and will refer cases to a relevant prosecutor when all other avenues have been exhausted and an SLP has not complied with their obligations.

25th Feb 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many people have been prosecuted for filing false information to Companies House in each of the last three years.

The knowing or reckless filing of false information at Companies House is a criminal offence under section 1112 of the Companies Act 2006. According to its internal case management system, the Insolvency Service – which has lead responsibility for bringing prosecutions for this offence in England and Wales - has prosecuted five separate individuals under section 1112 of the Companies Act 2006 in the last three years.

The Enforcement Team at Companies House is unaware of any such prosecutions having been brought in Scotland or Northern Ireland during this period.

8th Jan 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent progress her Department has made in its assessment of the use of fireworks in the UK.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is developing a fact-based evidence base on the key issues that have been raised around fireworks. This includes looking at data on noise and disturbance, anti-social behaviour, non-compliance, environmental impact, and the impact on humans and animals. This will build a fuller picture of the data around fireworks in order to identify whether further action is appropriate.

The work to develop a full evidence base is an ongoing exercise which is not time limited and we will report in due course.

8th Jan 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to her Written Statement of 7 January 2020, Official Report HCWS20, whether an equality impact assessment was carried out when setting those national minimum wage rates.

This April, the Government will be increasing the National Living Wage by 6.2% to £8.72, meeting the Government’s target of reaching 60% of median earnings by 2020. Younger workers and apprentices will also see inflation beating increases in the NMW rates of between 4.6% and 6.5%. The Low Pay Commission estimates that these increases to the NMW and NLW will directly benefit over 2.8 million workers.

An equality impact assessment was carried out when setting these minimum wage rates. The evidence suggests that there will be disproportionate positive wage impacts on protected groups as a result of the proposed increase in the minimum wage rates. As in previous years, the equality impact assessment will be published within the Government’s full impact assessment in due course.

12th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will ensure that unlicensed white collar boxing events in the UK comply with minimum criteria, standards and requirements set for those events by national governing bodies for boxing; and if she will make a statement.

The safety, wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount.

There will always be risks associated with participating in contact sport, but it is important that robust measures are in place to reduce the risk of major injuries and health issues.

It is the responsibility of individual boxing event organisers to ensure that they protect the safety and wellbeing of their participants.

We urge all boxing event organisers to work with the sport’s governing bodies to ensure robust standards are in place to protect the safety of those who take part.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
12th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the proposal by the national governing bodies for boxing that all unlicensed white collar boxing events in the UK should fully affiliate and comply with their minimum criteria, standards and requirements for those events; and if she will make a statement.

The safety, wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount.

There will always be risks associated with participating in contact sport, but it is important that robust measures are in place to reduce the risk of major injuries and health issues.

It is the responsibility of individual boxing event organisers to ensure that they protect the safety and wellbeing of their participants.

We urge all boxing event organisers to work with the sport’s governing bodies to ensure robust standards are in place to protect the safety of those who take part.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
12th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has plans to take steps to improve the safety of white collar boxing events; and if she will make a statement.

The safety, wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount.

There will always be risks associated with participating in contact sport, but it is important that robust measures are in place to reduce the risk of major injuries and health issues.

It is the responsibility of individual boxing event organisers to ensure that they protect the safety and wellbeing of their participants.

We urge all boxing event organisers to work with the sport’s governing bodies to ensure robust standards are in place to protect the safety of those who take part.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
6th Jul 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans the Government has to introduce transition funding to support touring musicians.

The UK’s creative industries are the finest in the world and this government is determined to support them.

UK performers and artists are of course still able to tour and perform in the EU, and vice versa. However, we understand the concerns about the new arrangements and we are working with the creative and cultural sectors to help them get to grips with the changes to systems and processes.

As the Secretary of State has said, we have moved at pace and with urgency, and have provided much greater clarity about the current position, including through the DCMS-led working group. The group has discussed the issues faced by the sector, has worked to provide clarity regarding the practical steps that need to be taken by touring professionals when touring the EU, and has explored further steps as to how these sectors can be supported to work and tour in the EU with confidence. This includes looking closely at proposals for an Export Office that could provide further practical help.

Through bilateral engagement with EU Member States, we have established that at least 17 out of 27 Member States, including France and Germany, allow some visa and permit free touring. We are now engaging with those Member States that do not have any visa or permit free touring to encourage them to adopt a more flexible approach in line with the UK’s own rules, which allow creative professionals to tour easily here.

26th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children have gone missing from (a) local authority and (b) foster care in each month in each of the last 10 years.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only

The department takes the issue of any child going missing, either from home or from local authority care, extremely seriously. Local authorities are legally responsible for protecting all children, regardless of where they go missing from.

When a child is found, they must be offered an independent return interview and local authorities, police, and voluntary services should work together to build a comprehensive picture of why the child went missing and to understand what support they may need in the future to prevent them from going missing again.

The latest available information on children missing from care relates to the year ending 31 March 2022 and is available in the ‘Children looked after in England (including adoption): 2021 to 2022’ statistical release, at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/d3f7d671-6341-4294-fa64-08db73cb8f1d. This data has been collected since 2014/15. The vast majority (90%) of missing incidents for all looked after children last for two days or less.

Claire Coutinho
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
22nd Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what financial support he plans to provide to the English language teaching sector in 2021 in response to the covid-19 outbreak.

The International Education Strategy recognises the crucial contribution of the English language to the UK's global potential and the important role of the English language training sector. Our update to this strategy, published on 6 February 2021, outlines the government’s support for the education sector, including English language training, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak as well as work across government aimed at improving the ability of the English language training sector to export their services and expertise.

English language schools are privately run businesses who teach fee-paying students in the UK and as such, are not in receipt of any funding from the department for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision. The department provides ESOL provision for people already resident within the UK through the Adult Education Budget.

Gillian Keegan
Secretary of State for Education
16th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to help ensure that disposable vape producers are contributing to the recycling of their products.

We will shortly consult on changes to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations to consider what, if any, changes to that legislation are needed to ensure the vaping sector specifically plays its part in properly financing the cost of collection and treatment of their products when they become waste. As part of that consultation, we will also consider measures aimed at driving up levels of collection of household WEEE, including vapes, to ensure more of it is properly recycled.

Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
8th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to bring forward legislative proposals for a deposit return scheme.

We are currently drafting the legislation to enable delivery of DRS, reflecting the positions set out in the consultation response published in January 2023. The legislation then needs to go through the necessary clearances before it can be laid in UK Parliament and the Welsh Senedd. We anticipate laying in the UK Parliament this summer.

Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
30th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the Scottish Government's planned consultation on the use of (a) cages for game birds and laying hens and (b) farrowing crates for pigs.

The UK Government is committed to strengthening animal welfare standards and is currently examining the use of cages

Intergovernmental discussions between Defra and the devolved governments on these matters are ongoing at both ministerial and official level. While animal welfare is a devolved matter under the devolution settlements, the provisional Animal Health and Welfare Common Framework puts in place shared ways of working between Defra and the devolved governments to drive forward common approaches to animal health and welfare law and policy, where agreed by all administrations.

Should one or more administrations propose to pursue a divergent approach, Defra and the devolved governments would undertake an assessment of the impacts of any proposed divergence in line with arrangements set out in the Framework.

Mark Spencer
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
14th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the (a) price and (b) availability of first stage infant formula.

We continue to monitor food prices using the ONS inflation figures. Recent pressures have been sustained and we have seen food price inflation continue to rise to 16.5% in November, up from 16.4% in October.

Defra is taking action to maintain an efficient food supply chain by mitigating against any potential burdens or friction which could otherwise drive-up consumer food prices.

Through regular engagement, Defra will continue to work with food retailers and producers to explore the range of measures they can take to ensure the availability of affordable food. For example, by maintaining value ranges, price matching and price freezing measures.

It is not for HM Government to set retail food prices nor to comment on day-to-day commercial decisions by companies. Rising food prices are dependent on a combination of factors including agri-food import prices, domestic agricultural prices, domestic labour and manufacturing costs.

In the UK we are fortunate to have a large and resilient food supply chain. Our high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources; strong domestic production and imports through stable trade routes.

The Government have committed £37 billon to support households with the cost of living. This includes an additional £500 million to help with the cost of household essentials, bringing total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. In England this is in the form of an extension to the Household Support Fund, running from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023.

We have also increased our Healthy Start Food Vouchers from £3.10 to £4.25, helping low-income families to by basic foods such as milk, fruit and vitamins ensuring that families are not choosing between costs and healthy choices. The Department for Health and Social care has responsibility for these vouchers, and for wider infant health policy.

Mark Spencer
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
16th May 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to regulate the cost of infant formula in response to recent price increases.

The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain, as demonstrated throughout the Covid-19 response. It is well equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption. Our high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources; strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes.

Food prices are set individually by businesses. It is not for the UK Government to set retail food prices nor to comment on day-to-day commercial decisions by companies.

Defra has well established ways of working with the industry and across Government to monitor risks that may arise. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement with major food retailers, who have not informed us of any availability issues with infant formula.

Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
18th Oct 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that consideration of the food and nutrition needs of infants and young children, and associated challenges facing young families, is included in the forthcoming White Paper on the National Food Strategy.

The forthcoming Government Food Strategy is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a food system that feeds our nation today and protects it for tomorrow. It will build upon work already underway in the Agriculture Act, Fisheries Act, and Environment Bill as well as docking into wider Government priorities, such as the obesity strategy.

The Government is wholly committed to supporting people on lower incomes, for example through increasing the living wage and spending over £111 billion on welfare support for people of working age in 2021/22.

It is also supporting the health and nutrition of young families through initiatives like the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme and this year’s increase to The Healthy Start voucher value. The School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme provides a free piece of fruit or vegetable to every child in Key Stage 1 at state-funded primary schools on every school day, while the Healthy Start vouchers encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies and young children from low-income households, and increased in value from £3.10 to £4.25 from April 2021.

Defra will continue to work closely with all other relevant Departments across Whitehall to develop a plan to ensure the food system is sustainable and affordable, supporting people and families to live healthy lives, and incorporate within our Food Strategy

Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
23rd Mar 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether vets, veterinary nurses and people in related professions are key workers under the covid-19 guidance.

The designation of key workers is a devolved matter and the Scottish Government has published guidance covering Scotland.

The Scottish Government has defined categories of workers as a guide for Local Authorities to use when designating key workers. This approach means there may be slight differences in each community in Scotland to address local priorities.

The relevant section of the Government covid-19 guidance, Food and other necessary goods, states that the key worker status includes those involved in food production, processing, distribution, sale and delivery, as well as those essential to the provision of other key goods (for example hygienic and veterinary medicines).

For more information relating to key worker status for vets please refer to the guidance found at:

www.rcvs.org.uk/news-and-views/news/coronavirus-rcvs-and-bva-issue-joint-guidance-on-key-worker.

For more information on key workers in general please refer to the GOV.UK website at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision.

Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
8th Jun 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, which companies are licensed to export (a) rubber bullets and (b) tear gas; and to which countries those items are exported.

I refer the honourable member to the answer I provided on 8th June.

All countries are under continual review, in line with the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria (‘Consolidated Criteria’), and my Department is able to review licences – and suspend or revoke as necessary – when circumstances require.

Providing the names of companies licensed to export crowd controlled ammunition and tear gas would disclose commercially sensitive information.

8th Jun 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, when the arms export licences to the United States were last reviewed.

I refer the honourable member to the answer I provided on 8th June.

All countries are under continual review, in line with the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria (‘Consolidated Criteria’), and my Department is able to review licences – and suspend or revoke as necessary – when circumstances require.

Providing the names of companies licensed to export crowd controlled ammunition and tear gas would disclose commercially sensitive information.

2nd Jun 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will suspend export of (a) rubber bullets and (b) tear gas to the US.

My Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade and I have been sorry to see the violence that has taken place in the United States of America.

All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria (‘Consolidated Criteria’). In reaching a decision, the Department for International Trade receives advice from a number of Departments including the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Together, we draw on all available information, including reports from NGOs and our diplomatic missions. The Consolidated Criteria provides a thorough risk assessment framework and requires us to think hard about the impact of exporting any equipment. These are not decisions my Department takes lightly, and we will not license the export of items where to do so would be inconsistent with the Consolidated Criteria.

Any licence granted by my Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade may be subject to conditions. In addition, in line with the Consolidated Criteria, my Department is able to review licences – and suspend or revoke as necessary – when circumstances require. There are currently eight extant licences that may be linked to law enforcement agencies. Six are Open Individual Export Licences (‘OIELs’), which have potential end users that include law enforcement agencies. Two are Standard Individual Export Licences (‘SIELs’), which have numerous potential end users that include law enforcement agencies. There are also 15 Open General Licences (‘OGLs’) for which businesses can register that cover the export of anti-riot gear.

Much information is in the public domain already. We publish information on all export licences issued, refused and revoked on a quarterly and annual basis as official statistics on GOV.UK – at: gov.uk/government/collections/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data – and whilst data on actual exports is not required to be centrally held, the licences issued until the end of December 2019 are available.

2nd Jun 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will suspend export of (a) rubber bullets and (b) tear gas to the US.

My Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade and I have been sorry to see the violence that has taken place in the United States of America.

All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria (‘Consolidated Criteria’). In reaching a decision, the Department for International Trade receives advice from a number of Departments including the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Together, we draw on all available information, including reports from NGOs and our diplomatic missions. The Consolidated Criteria provides a thorough risk assessment framework and requires us to think hard about the impact of exporting any equipment. These are not decisions my Department takes lightly, and we will not license the export of items where to do so would be inconsistent with the Consolidated Criteria.

Any licence granted by my Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade may be subject to conditions. In addition, in line with the Consolidated Criteria, my Department is able to review licences – and suspend or revoke as necessary – when circumstances require. There are currently eight extant licences that may be linked to law enforcement agencies. Six are Open Individual Export Licences (‘OIELs’), which have potential end users that include law enforcement agencies. Two are Standard Individual Export Licences (‘SIELs’), which have numerous potential end users that include law enforcement agencies. There are also 15 Open General Licences (‘OGLs’) for which businesses can register that cover the export of anti-riot gear.

Much information is in the public domain already. We publish information on all export licences issued, refused and revoked on a quarterly and annual basis as official statistics on GOV.UK – at: gov.uk/government/collections/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data – and whilst data on actual exports is not required to be centrally held, the licences issued until the end of December 2019 are available.

14th Jul 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the (a) adequacy of the size of and (b) challenges faced by the PCV driver workforce.

No formal assessment has been carried out. However, the Department engages regularly with operators through representative groups such as the Confederation for Passenger Transport and the Association of Local Bus Managers to understand the challenges that the sector is facing, including workforce related issues.

The PCV driver workforce plays a vital role in delivering essential public services and has faced a number of challenges over the pandemic. My officials have been working with the representative groups to ensure that where issues have emerged they are addressed as effectively as possible, including in areas such as testing and licensing.

14th Jul 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to mitigate delays in processing the medical approvals that permit PCV drivers to return to work.

The DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day which must be dealt with in person. Ongoing industrial action by members of the Public and Commercial Services union, along with fewer operational staff on site to allow for social distancing in line with Welsh Government requirements and an increased demand for its services has led to delays in dealing with paper applications. The DVLA has leased an additional building to accommodate more operational staff.

Currently, driving licence applications made on paper are likely to take six to ten weeks to process. There may be additional delays in processing more complex transactions, for example, if medical investigations are needed.

The latest information on turnaround times for paper driving licence applications can be found here.

The DVLA has reconfigured its accommodation to safely maximise the number of staff on site and is working hard to process applications as quickly as possible. The DVLA has accelerated the development of additional online services to reduce the number of paper applications and supported their take up through a publicity campaign. Further digital service enhancements are underway.

14th Jul 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to mitigate delays in issuing provisional PCV licences.

The DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day which must be dealt with in person. Ongoing industrial action by members of the Public and Commercial Services union, along with fewer operational staff on site to allow for social distancing in line with Welsh Government requirements and an increased demand for its services has led to delays in dealing with paper applications. The DVLA has leased an additional building to accommodate more operational staff.

Currently, driving licence applications made on paper are likely to take six to ten weeks to process. There may be additional delays in processing more complex transactions, for example, if medical investigations are needed.

The latest information on turnaround times for paper driving licence applications can be found here.

The DVLA has reconfigured its accommodation to safely maximise the number of staff on site and is working hard to process applications as quickly as possible. The DVLA has accelerated the development of additional online services to reduce the number of paper applications and supported their take up through a publicity campaign. Further digital service enhancements are underway.

2nd Jun 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to reduce the transmission of covid-19 on ferries.

The Department continues to engage at all levels across the sector to understand the operational issues facing maritime businesses. As part of this, we continue to work closely with Public Health England and DHSC to ensure ferry operators have access to guidance. This guidance contains pragmatic advice and additional clarity for operators on steps to reduce the risk for staff whilst ensuring services keep running https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-shipping-and-sea-ports-guidance

23rd Mar 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether motor factors and independent garages are key workers who are required to keep working under the covid-19 guidance.

As set out in “Guidance: Closing certain businesses and venues” issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, garages are among the exceptions to businesses which must close, and may remain open. All non-essential retail must close, including those retailers selling car parts and accessories. However online retailers, including those supplying car parts may remain open.

21st Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that people who (a) have not qualified for the Cost of Living Payment as a result of seasonal work and (b) are receiving a nil payment for the period ending 25 May 2022, are being supported in the context of the increased costs of living.

The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living, which is why it is providing over £37 billion of support this year.

Those who do not meet the eligibility criteria for the first Cost of Living Payment instalment may qualify for the second instalment of £324 later in the year.

The Cost of Living Payments are only one part of the support available. All households with a domestic electricity bill across the UK will benefit from the £400 being provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme, for example. We are also providing an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing the total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. In England, the current Household Support Fund is already providing £421m of support for the period 1 April – 30 September 2022. Devolved administrations have received £79 million through the Barnett formula.

We are also extending the support Jobcentres provide to people in work and on low incomes to help them to increase their earnings and move into better paid quality jobs. Through a staged roll-out, which started in April 2022, around 2.1m low-paid benefit claimants will be eligible for support to progress into higher-paid work.

This is on top of the support we have already provided by giving the lowest earners a pay rise by increasing the National Living Wage by 6.6% to £9.50 an hour, providing an extra £1,000 a year for a full-time worker and we raised the National Insurance threshold to £12,570 from 6 July 2022, which is a saving of over £330 a year for a typical employee.

David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
21st Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that people who are on Contributions Based ESA and are not eligible for the Cost of Living Payment are being supported in the context of increased costs of living.

Non-means tested benefits are not eligible benefits for the Cost of Living Payment in their own right because people receiving these benefits may have other financial resources available to them. Many will also have been in receipt of an eligible means tested benefit on the qualifying date for the £326 Cost of Living Payment.

Individuals who do not qualify for a Cost-of-living Payment, may

  • benefit from of the wider support package, including the £400 rebate for domestic electricity customers provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme and the £150 rebate for Council Tax Band A to D households in England.

  • The Government is providing a further £500m towards the cost of essentials bringing total funding via the fund to £1.5bn. In England, £421m will be used to further extend the Household Support Fund (October 2022 – March 2023). Guidance and individual local authority indicative allocations for the further extension will be announced in due course.

In addition, Personal Independence Payment is available to help with the extra costs faced by people with a long-term health condition or disability. Disability benefits can provide a gateway or passport to a wide range of additional support or help.

David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
21st Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that people who are on the State Pension and are not eligible for the Cost of Living Payment are being supported in the context of the increased costs of living.

In 2022/23, we will spend over £134bn on benefits for pensioners in GB. This includes spending on the State Pension which is forecast to be over £110bn. The full yearly basic State Pension is now over £2,300 higher, in cash terms, than in 2010 which is around £720 more than if it had been up-rated in line with prices.

The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living. This is why we are providing £37bn of support this year which includes a one-off payment of £300 to pensioner households as an addition to the Winter Fuel Payment. All households with a domestic electricity bill will also benefit from the £400 support being provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme.

We are also providing an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing the total funding for this support to £1.5 billion.

Julie Marson
Assistant Whip
10th May 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to announce the timetable for the managed migration from legacy benefits to Universal Credit.

The Department is committed to ensuring the final phase of Universal Credit is rolled out safely and is responsibly delivered by the end of 2024. We are currently focused on the discovery phase of managed migration beginning with 250 claimants respectively in both Bolton and Medway

David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
10th May 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her timeframe is for managed migration of Universal Credit in Scotland.

The Department is currently focused on the discovery phase of managed migration starting with 250 claimants in Bolton and Medway. We are committed to ensuring the final phase of Universal Credit is rolled out safely and is responsibly delivered by the end of 2024 in Scotland and the rest of Great Britain.

David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
10th May 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to make funding available for third sector organisations supporting their service users through managed migration to universal credit.

The Department recognises the importance of establishing the best possible support arrangements for those moving from legacy benefits to Universal Credit. We will start the managed migration of legacy benefit claimants by initially moving very small numbers, beginning with 250 claimants respectively in both Bolton and Medway. There will be a range of support available to individuals, including a dedicated DWP telephone line and signposting to independent support through the Help to Claim service. As we develop our learning, we will gradually increase the cases over time. It is important that we learn how to safely move people to Universal Credit, and understand the support required to do so. We are also currently considering what further independent support might be needed to support those considering a voluntary move to Universal Credit.

David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
15th Dec 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of allocating funding to support an increase in the rate of statutory sick pay.

The Government has previously consulted on Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) reform as part of Health is Everyone’s Business. The Government’s response to the consultation acknowledged that, while the consultation posed several important questions on the future of SSP which require further consideration, the pandemic was not the right time to introduce changes to the sick pay system.

22nd Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the constituent of the hon. Member for Glasgow Central will receive payment of her State Pension as was confirmed via email on 6 October 2021 by DWP Visiting, Central Team 1, reference ZA24802.

DWP provided an email response to the office of Alison Thewliss MP on 22 November 2021.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
2nd Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to answer Questions 57102, 57103 and 57104 tabled by the hon. Member for Glasgow Central.

I apologise to the honourable member for the delay in answering these questions. This was due to extensive Quality Assurance to ensure the figures are accurate. Please find the responses to these questions here.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
15th Oct 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) work coaches and (b) Disability Employment Advisors by (i) full time equivalent and (ii) headcount her Department has employed in Glasgow in each year since 2010.

The staffing resource assigned to Work Coach and Disability Employment Adviser activities is given below, measured as Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) based on activity-based management (ABM) activities and Staff in Post (SiP).

Disability Employment Adviser is one of several activities that are counted as Work Coach activities. As such, Disability Employment Advisers are shown as a subset of Work Coaches.

It is shown as at the end of each financial year since 2018-19, when Work Coach activity was first recorded as a discrete role within our data.

National

Mar-19

Mar-20

Mar-21

Staff in Post

Work Coaches

16,315

16,191

27,286

of which

Disability Employment Advisers1

555

657

585

Full Time Equivalent (ABM activities)2

Work Coaches

13,287

12,938

23,833

of which

Disability Employment Advisers

441

546

478

Central Scotland3

Mar-19

Mar-20

Mar-21

Staff in Post

Work Coaches

479

290

403

of which

Disability Employment Advisers1

17

12

11

Full Time Equivalent (ABM activities)2

Work Coaches

355

204

338

of which

Disability Employment Advisers

10

10

9

Notes to the tables

  1. Those carrying out Disability Employment Adviser activities may have this as their only activity, or may split their time between this and other Work Coach activities.
  2. FTE (ABM activities) is from Departmental Management Information which records how much of each persons’ role is spent doing certain types of work activity. This is then aggregated and rounded to the nearest whole number. The FTE (ABM activities) is therefore lower than the total Staff in Post.
  3. The main Glasgow conurbation falls within the Central Scotland Jobcentre District.
Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
15th Oct 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Disability Employment Advisors by (a) full time equivalent and (b) headcount have been employed by her Department in each year since that role was introduced.

The staffing resource assigned to Work Coach and Disability Employment Adviser activities is given below, measured as Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) based on activity-based management (ABM) activities and Staff in Post (SiP).

Disability Employment Adviser is one of several activities that are counted as Work Coach activities. As such, Disability Employment Advisers are shown as a subset of Work Coaches.

It is shown as at the end of each financial year since 2018-19, when Work Coach activity was first recorded as a discrete role within our data.

National

Mar-19

Mar-20

Mar-21

Staff in Post

Work Coaches

16,315

16,191

27,286

of which

Disability Employment Advisers1

555

657

585

Full Time Equivalent (ABM activities)2

Work Coaches

13,287

12,938

23,833

of which

Disability Employment Advisers

441

546

478

Central Scotland3

Mar-19

Mar-20

Mar-21

Staff in Post

Work Coaches

479

290

403

of which

Disability Employment Advisers1

17

12

11

Full Time Equivalent (ABM activities)2

Work Coaches

355

204

338

of which

Disability Employment Advisers

10

10

9

Notes to the tables

  1. Those carrying out Disability Employment Adviser activities may have this as their only activity, or may split their time between this and other Work Coach activities.
  2. FTE (ABM activities) is from Departmental Management Information which records how much of each persons’ role is spent doing certain types of work activity. This is then aggregated and rounded to the nearest whole number. The FTE (ABM activities) is therefore lower than the total Staff in Post.
  3. The main Glasgow conurbation falls within the Central Scotland Jobcentre District.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
15th Oct 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many work coaches by (a) full time equivalent and (b) headcount were employed by her Department in each year since 2010.

The staffing resource assigned to Work Coach and Disability Employment Adviser activities is given below, measured as Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) based on activity-based management (ABM) activities and Staff in Post (SiP).

Disability Employment Adviser is one of several activities that are counted as Work Coach activities. As such, Disability Employment Advisers are shown as a subset of Work Coaches.

It is shown as at the end of each financial year since 2018-19, when Work Coach activity was first recorded as a discrete role within our data.

National

Mar-19

Mar-20

Mar-21

Staff in Post

Work Coaches

16,315

16,191

27,286

of which

Disability Employment Advisers1

555

657

585

Full Time Equivalent (ABM activities)2

Work Coaches

13,287

12,938

23,833

of which

Disability Employment Advisers

441

546

478

Central Scotland3

Mar-19

Mar-20

Mar-21

Staff in Post

Work Coaches

479

290

403

of which

Disability Employment Advisers1

17

12

11

Full Time Equivalent (ABM activities)2

Work Coaches

355

204

338

of which

Disability Employment Advisers

10

10

9

Notes to the tables

  1. Those carrying out Disability Employment Adviser activities may have this as their only activity, or may split their time between this and other Work Coach activities.
  2. FTE (ABM activities) is from Departmental Management Information which records how much of each persons’ role is spent doing certain types of work activity. This is then aggregated and rounded to the nearest whole number. The FTE (ABM activities) is therefore lower than the total Staff in Post.
  3. The main Glasgow conurbation falls within the Central Scotland Jobcentre District.
Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
7th Sep 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has provided (a) financial and (b) other support to the No Falls Foundation to help the uptake of a no falls charter for those operating in working at height sectors.

To date there has been no discussion between the No Falls Foundation and the Health and Safety Executive about the production of a no falls charter, nor has any financial or other support been provided.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
7th Sep 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has had recent discussions with the No Falls Foundation on the production of a no falls charter.

To date there has been no discussion between the No Falls Foundation and the Health and Safety Executive about the production of a no falls charter, nor has any financial or other support been provided.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
7th Sep 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of improving the data collected on workplace deaths using the RIDDOR system.

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) places a legal duty on responsible persons (usually employers in relation to employees) to report certain incidents at work (including work- related fatalities) to the relevant Enforcing Authority (HSE or Local Authority). The regulations apply to all sectors and workplaces in Great Britain.

The Regulations were amended in 2013 as a result of recommendations made by Professor Lofstedt in his 2011 report “Reclaiming health and safety for all: An independent review of health and safety legislation” to simplify reporting requirements.

The Regulations are reviewed every 5 years to ensure that they remain appropriate and fit for purpose. The Regulations were last reviewed in 2018 and no recommendations were made in relation to the reporting of work- related fatalities.

HSE has produced web-based guidance to support responsible persons in making judgements about what needs to be reported under RIDDOR. This guidance is also reviewed on a regular basis with reporting requirements routinely communicated to duty holders via targeted media activity.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
3rd Sep 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many jobs have been created in third sector organisations through the Kickstart scheme in (a) Glasgow, (b) Scotland and (c) the UK as at 2 September 2021.

I refer the honourable member to the answer given for PQ 36791 for Kickstart statistics on sectors and geographical areas. We are currently not able to publish a breakdown below the regional and national level although expect to be able to do so in due course.

We do not currently hold details of the number of charitable or voluntary sector organisations participating in Kickstart, but this something we plan to investigate as part of the evaluation for scheme. The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
27th May 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have secured employment through the Kickstart scheme to date.

The aim of the Kickstart Scheme is to fund the direct creation of additional jobs for young people at risk of long-term unemployment. Kickstart provides young people with an opportunity to build their skills and confidence in the work place and gain experience that will improve their chances of finding long-term, sustainable work.

As of the 27 May 2021, over 29,000 young people have started jobs created by the Kickstart Scheme.

Although care is taken when processing and analysing Kickstart applications, referrals and starts, the data collected might be subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system which has been developed quickly. The management information presented here has not been subjected to the usual standard of quality assurance associated with official statistics, but is provided in the interests of transparency. Work is ongoing to improve the quality of information available for the programme.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
27th May 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Kickstart scheme.

I refer the honourable member to the answer given for PQ 2273.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
27th May 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many young people in Glasgow Central have (a) been offered and (b) begun a place under the Kickstart scheme.

Delivering the Kickstart Scheme at pace has meant an initial concentration on the production of a limited data set. We are continuing to develop our data, and we aim to be able to publish more localised data (including by Parliamentary constituency) in due course.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
27th May 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employers in Glasgow Central constituency have been signed up to the Kickstart scheme as at 27 May 2021.

Delivering the Kickstart Scheme at pace has meant an initial concentration on the production of a limited data set. We are continuing to develop our data, and we aim to be able to publish more localised data (including by Parliamentary constituency) in due course.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
27th May 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish the equality impact assessment relating to the Kickstart scheme.

The Department for Work and Pensions plans to publish the Equality Impact Assessment on the Kickstart Scheme in due course.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
20th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make it her policy to have a target for a proportion of the proposed additional job coach roles to be held by people with disabilities.

DWP is a disability confident, inclusive employer welcoming applications from all candidates through a fair and open approach to recruitment. The department operates a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates who have a disability, provided they can demonstrate that they meet the minimum criteria defined for the job. It is also committed to making reasonable adjustments for disabled candidates throughout the selection process.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
16th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who made a claim under the non-consensual sex exemption to the two child limit for (a) child tax credits and (b) universal credit have subsequently had that entitlement removed.

There are no circumstances in which a claimant would be refused an exception where they meet the conditions and have provided relevant information to support their request. This includes contacting a suitable third party professional who can confirm that the claimant’s circumstances, as described by them, are consistent with the criteria for the non-consensual conception exception.

The Department recognises the value that third-party professionals, including health care professionals, registered social workers, and relevant specialist charities can provide to claimants experiencing distressing events.

16th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who have had a claim under the non-consensual sex exemption to the two child limit have had their claim for (a) child tax credits and (b) universal credit rejected.

There are no circumstances in which a claimant would be refused an exception where they meet the conditions and have provided relevant information to support their request. This includes contacting a suitable third party professional who can confirm that the claimant’s circumstances, as described by them, are consistent with the criteria for the non-consensual conception exception.

The Department recognises the value that third-party professionals, including health care professionals, registered social workers, and relevant specialist charities can provide to claimants experiencing distressing events.

16th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the appeals process is for rejected claims under the non-consensual sex exemption to the two child limit for (a) child tax credits and (b) universal credit.

There are no circumstances in which a claimant would be refused an exception where they meet the conditions and have provided relevant information to support their request. This includes contacting a suitable third party professional who can confirm that the claimant’s circumstances, as described by them, are consistent with the criteria for the non-consensual conception exception.

The Department recognises the value that third-party professionals, including health care professionals, registered social workers, and relevant specialist charities can provide to claimants experiencing distressing events.

8th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether young people who are medically shielding from covid-19 will be required to take up a place on the Kickstart jobs scheme.

Those who have declared a health condition that restricts their ability to work, including those who are shielding and clinically extremely vulnerable, will not be required to be available for work. Further details about the Kickstart Scheme will be set out in due course.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
8th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what conditions will be placed on employers participating in the Kickstart jobs scheme to protect the employment conditions of workers aged 25 and over.

The Kickstart scheme will protect the employment conditions of workers aged 25 and over. Jobs available to young people, aged 16-24, will be new jobs - with the funding conditional on the employer demonstrating these jobs are additional. Further details about the Kickstart Scheme will be set out in due course.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
8th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Jobcentre Plus staff will be recruited in Glasgow in response to the Chancellor’s statement of 8 July 2020; and at which Jobcentres will they be located.

It is too soon in the recruitment process to be able to identify how many of the new work coaches will be allocated to each city or location. However, Scotland plans to recruit c450 new work coaches between now and the end of October in the first wave of recruitment. Further planned recruitment later in the year will grow these numbers. Recruitment will be targeted based on local demand, plus current available and emerging estate space and Job Centre operating model changes.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
8th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether young people in receipt of universal credit will be sanctioned if they do not take up a place on the Kickstart jobs scheme.

A personalised, tailored claimant commitment is agreed between the work coach and the claimant. They will only set reasonable requirements, based on the claimant’s circumstances and the local/national public health guidelines. Further details about the Kickstart Scheme will be set out in due course.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
8th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether young people not in receipt of universal credit will be eligible to apply to the Kickstart jobs scheme.

The £2 billion Kickstart Scheme is aimed at young people 16-24 on Universal Credit with the highest risk of long-term unemployment. We will not limit our ambitions about the scope for the Kickstart Scheme, and we are open to expand depending on the number of jobs of the right quality that organisations are able to create.

The Government has announced a comprehensive package of support for all young people. Alongside the Kickstart Scheme, we are tripling the number of traineeships for those aged 19 to 24 and doubling the number for those aged 16 to 18, increasing the funding for new apprenticeships for young people and will increase the number of people taking part in sector based work academies.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
2nd Jun 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 19 May 2020 to Question 46706, on Social Security Benefits: Children, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the operation of the exception to the two-child limit for children born as a result of non-consensual conception.

The Government has committed to annual statistics releases and the next of these will be published in the summer. These publications include details of the number of exceptions to the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children, including in cases of non-consensual conception. The latest available release can be found on GOV.UK.

The Department fully recognises that this is a difficult and sensitive issue, and has set up procedures that are mindful of the sensitivities involved following public consultation. We believe this strikes the right balance, making sure people get the support they need without the need for unnecessarily intrusive processes, whilst at the same time providing the right assurance that the additional support is going to those for whom it is intended.

2nd Jun 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of provision of support for a maximum of two children through the benefits system following the covid-10 outbreak.

The Government has committed to annual statistics releases related to the operation of the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children. Statistics related to the period up to April 2019 are available on GOV.UK. Further statistics related to the period up to April 2020 will be published this summer.

13th May 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many families and children are affected by the two-child limit on child benefit in Glasgow Central; and what assessment she has made of trends in the level of families and children affected in that constituency since that policy was introduced.

The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

13th May 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to make an assessment of the effectiveness of the operation of the exception to the two-child limit for children born as a result of non-consensual conception.

The Government has committed to annual statistics releases related to the operation of the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children. Statistics related to the period up to April 2019 are available on GOV.UK. Statistics related to the period up to April 2020 will be published in the summer.

13th May 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to raise awareness of the non-consensual conception exception among people affected by the two-child limit on child benefit.

Information regarding the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children and its exceptions, including the non-consensual conception exception, can be found on GOV.UK.

When a Universal Credit claimant(s) declares that they have a child or children, they are automatically made aware of the exceptions, including for non-consensual conception, and asked to declare if any of the children are likely to meet any of these criteria.

For those claiming Child Tax Credit, information regarding the policy and its exceptions is provided in annual claim renewal packs and at in-year finalisation, when customers move over to Universal Credit.

24th Mar 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2020 to Question 32160, what assessment she has made of the extent to which accessibility of IT and language support resources may prevent claimants applying for universal credit; and if she will make it her policy to allow agencies to support claimants for that benefit without the need for explicit consent.

The Department is working collaboratively with stakeholders to better understand any issues with the current process of explicit consent and to explore options for improving this process. The system of explicit consent does not prohibit claimants from seeking assistance and consent can be given by a claimant, either through their online account or by telephone. This helps to ensure the security of Universal Credit, including deterring fraudsters who may seek to exploit some of our most vulnerable claimants.

Universal Credit is designed to be a 'digital-first' service, ensuring we make best use of technology to deliver a modern and effective working-age welfare system, allowing our staff to concentrate on those people who require additional support. Although the Department offers comprehensive support for claimants to use our digital service, there will be occasions when people are unable to make their claim online, so telephone applications are accepted.

Where needed, Foreign Language and British Sign Language (BSL) support will be offered to claimants who need extra support. The service for BSL can be delivered by Video Relay Service and for foreign language interpreting help is available in writing and by telephone.

Additionally, claimants can also access free telephony and web support through the Citizen's Advice Help to Claim service.

19th Mar 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to (a) uprate and (b) relax the eligibility requirements for carers allowance during the covid-19 outbreak to help carers that may be required to cease paid employment.

As both the Prime Minister and Chancellor have made clear, the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19 and we have been clear in our intention that no one should be penalised for doing the right thing. These are rapidly developing circumstances, we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.

19th Mar 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to remove the requirement for explicit consent for enquiries to her Department during the covid-10 outbreak.

As both the Prime Minister and Chancellor have made clear, the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID 19 and we have been clear in our intention that no one should be penalised for doing the right thing. These are rapidly developing circumstances, we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.

The Universal Credit system is structured around an online personal account which contains all the information relevant to the claim. This includes claimant’s bank account details, savings, capital, medical history, family relationships and address information, which means that we have a responsibility to ensure that a high level of security and protection is in place, and that we take all reasonable steps to protect the position of claimants and their data which includes ensuring that consent is explicitly given to share it.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
17th Mar 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she plans to take to ensure that pregnant women that are required to self-isolate do not lose out on maternity entitlements.

As both the Prime Minister and Chancellor have made clear, the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID 19 and we have been clear in our intention that no one should be penalised for doing the right thing. These are rapidly developing circumstances, we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
19th Dec 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the two child limit for (a) child tax credits and (b) universal credit on low income families.

DWP and HMRC produce a joint report with statistics related to the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children, the latest of which was published in July 2019 and can be found online at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-tax-credit-and-universal-credit-claimants-statistics-related-to-the-policy-to-provide-support-for-a-maximum-of-2-children-april-2019

Providing support for a maximum of two children, or qualifying young persons in Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit, ensures fairness between claimants and those taxpayers who support themselves solely through work.

We recognise that some claimants are not able to make the same choices about the number of children in their family, which is why exceptions have been put in place to protect certain groups. On migration to Universal Credit, families’ existing entitlement will be protected.

19th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Women’s Health Ambassador for England has met with the Women’s Health Champion for Scotland.

The Women’s Health Ambassador for England has not met with the Women’s Health Champion for Scotland.

Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
10th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the debate of 4 July on Human-specific medical research techniques, Official Report columns 293WH to 304WH, what assessment he has made of the capability of the UK’s regulatory system to support the (a) development and (b) use of human-specific technologies in medical research.

As the regulator of medicines, medical devices and blood components for transfusion in the United Kingdom, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) keeps abreast of advances in human-specific technologies in medical research that are relevant to the development of medicines and medical devices. The MHRA is aware of human-specific techniques, such as organ-on-chip technologies used to better identify potential toxicity of novel medicines, and has engaged with other organisations active in this space such as the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement & Reduction of Animals in Research who have hosted meetings on this theme. The MHRA has also provided scientific advice on the use of this technology to support proof of concept for a new medicine. That said, the MHRA does not identify those with whom it may have had discussions who are active commercially in this space.

In relation to human-specific technologies, some medicines have been developed which only have activity in humans, such as eculizumab (Soliris), tebentafusp (Kimmtrak) or CAR T cell products (for instance, Kymriah, Yescarta and Tecartus). These medicines were developed using human specific methods, however, versions of these medicines that were active in animals were, in some cases, also used. The MHRA supports the developers of these products by its offer of scientific advice services, the Innovation Office and the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway.

26th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of community recovery services in helping people recover from addiction.

Community addiction recovery services include drug and alcohol treatment. In December 2021 the Government published a ten-year drug strategy which was coupled with an additional £532 million of funding over the three-year spending review period between, 2022/23, to 2024/25, for drug and alcohol treatment services. Evaluations assessing the delivery, impact, and value for money of these treatment and recovery programmes will be completed by Autumn 2025.

31st Jan 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill on the (a) Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula (England) Regulations 2007, (b) Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula (Wales) Regulations 2020, (c) Foods for Specific Groups (Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 and (d) Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Through the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, the Government is currently reviewing which retained European Union law should be repealed, reformed or preserved. The Government continues to work with a range of stakeholders to consider impacts and ensure that current standards in patient safety and public health are maintained.

The Government continues to proactively engage the devolved governments at official and Ministerial level as part of this review.

14th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the health consequences of the watering down of infant formula.

No recent assessment has been made.

16th May 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will increase the value of healthy start vouchers in response to the increasing cost of infant formula.

While there are no current plans to do so, the value of the Healthy Start scheme is kept under review. From April 2021, the value increased from £3.10 to £4.25, providing additional support to pregnant women and families on lower incomes to make healthy food choices.

1st Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the correspondence from the Member for Glasgow Central on 7 January with case ref ZA25441.

We replied to the hon. Member on 7 February 2022.

Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
2nd Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Becoming Breastfeeding Friendly Report published by the Scottish Government on 3 June 2019, if he will undertake and publish similar report for England.

There are no current plans to publish a Becoming Breastfeeding Friendly (BBF) report for England. BBF study findings have been superseded by modernisation of the Healthy Child Programme, including supporting guidance on breastfeeding which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/commissioning-of-public-health-services-for-children

6th Jul 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to regulate commercial for profit human milk banks.

There are currently no plans to introduce regulation of commercial for profit human milk banks. The Government will continue to closely monitor this emerging industry.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
9th Jun 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether people without immigration status will be able to access covid-19 vaccination.

Vaccination against COVID-19 is offered to every eligible adult living in the United Kingdom free of charge, regardless of immigration status.

9th Jun 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether people no immigration status are able to access covid-19 vaccinations.

Vaccination against COVID-19 is offered to every eligible adult living in the United Kingdom free of charge, regardless of immigration status.

9th Jun 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the barriers to covid-19 vaccination as a result of immigration status.

Vaccination against COVID-19 is offered to every eligible adult living in the United Kingdom free of charge, regardless of immigration status. Entitlement to free National Health Service treatment is generally based on ordinary residence in the UK. A person who can show they have taken up ordinary residence in the UK can access all NHS services immediately, including COVID-19 vaccinations, based on clinical need. No immigration checks are needed to receive these services and the NHS is not required to report undocumented migrants to the Home Office.

22nd Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Government's preparedness for infant feeding provision in emergencies.

The Department has made no such assessment.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
22nd Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to his oral contribution of 2 February 2021, Official Report column 856, when the Chief Medical Officer plans to respond to the letter of the hon. Member for Glasgow Central on covid-19 and vaccination.

The Chief Medical Officer responded to the hon. Member on 12 April 2021.

Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
21st Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to fully implement the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes.

There is strict legislation currently in place through the overarching Food for Specific Groups legislation (Retained Regulation No 609/2013) and specifically Retained Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/127. These regulate, labelling and marketing of infant formulae and follow-on formulae so as not to discourage breastfeeding. The legislation gives effect to the principles and aims of the 1981 World Health Organization Code on the Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes by restricting the labelling, presentation and advertising of infant formula so as not to discourage breastfeeding.

These are enforced by the Food for Specific Groups (Food for Special Medical Purposes for Infants, Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula) (Information and Compositional Requirements) (Amendment etc.) (England) Regulations 2020. Similar legislation applies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
12th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond the e-mail of 30 September 2020 from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central on behalf of Allan Gordon, reference number ZA21117.

We replied to the hon. Member’s email on 14 December 2020.

Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
7th Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the Government's official advice is on covid-19 vaccination for people who are (a) pregnant and (b) lactating.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) consists of independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccine the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level.

In line with the recommendations of the JCVI, the vaccine will initially be rolled out to these priority groups, including care home residents and staff, people over 80 years old, and health and care workers. The vaccine will then be prioritised amongst the rest of the population in order of age and risk, including those who are clinically extremely vulnerable, and all individuals aged 16-64 years old with underlying health conditions

The JCVI favours a precautionary approach and therefore does not currently advise COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy. Those eligible for vaccination who are also breastfeeding should discuss with their clinician.

17th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the uprating of Healthy Start vouchers.

The Government announced on 8 November 2020 that the Healthy Start voucher value will increase from £3.10 to £4.25 in England from April 2021. This will provide additional support to pregnant women and families on lower incomes to make healthy food choices.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
17th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will increase the value of healthy start vouchers.

The Government announced on 8 November 2020 that the Healthy Start voucher value will increase from £3.10 to £4.25 in England from April 2021. This will provide additional support to pregnant women and families on lower incomes to make healthy food choices.

The Scottish Government has its own devolved Best Start Food Scheme which was launched on 12 August 2019 to replace Healthy Start for people living in Scotland. The devolution and transition to the Scottish Best Start Foods Scheme was completed on the 31 March 2020.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
17th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the uptake of healthy start vouchers.

The Department is currently developing a digital approach to Healthy Start, to make it easier for families to apply for and use the scheme. We are developing and testing an online application form for Healthy Start, to replace the current paper form, and a payment card to replace paper vouchers.

All eligible beneficiaries receive a letter inviting them to apply for Healthy Start, together with a pre-populated application form. The scheme is also promoted through the Healthy Start and Start4Life websites.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
22nd Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what additional support he is providing to human milk bank services during the covid-19 outbreak.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for St Albans (Daisy Cooper MP) on 13 May 2020 to Question 37944.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
15th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what date breastfeeding support groups will be permitted to restart as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.

Breastfeeding support groups have continued to operate virtually throughout the restrictions. Premises such as community centres can reopen and should follow COVID-19 Secure guidelines. It is important to maintain social distancing and good hand hygiene in these circumstances.

In addition, breastfeeding support provided by Public Health England online and over the phone has continued to run throughout the pandemic and is accessible to families, including the National Breastfeeding Helpline and Alexa’s Breastfeeding Friend. Start4Life provides information for families specifically about COVID-19 and breastfeeding. This can be accessed at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/start4life/baby/coronavirus-covid19-advice-for-parents/

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
8th Jun 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 8 June 2020 to Question 53466 on Coronavirus: Ethnic Groups, when he plans to publish the (a) evidence submitted to and b) recommendations of the Covid 19 Review of Disparities in Risks and Outcomes.

No representations were sought or received by Public Health England for their epidemiological report entitled Covid-19: review of disparities in risks and outcomes, published on 2 June 2020.

Alongside the epidemiological review, Professor Fenton undertook a rapid evidence review and external stakeholder engagement with a significant number of individuals and organisations within black, Asian and ethnic minority communities, to hear their views, concerns and ideas about the impact of COVID-19 on their communities. The results of that work have now been published and will inform the government’s next steps being taken forward by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Equalities (Kemi Badenoch MP).

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
2nd Jun 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timeframe is for the publication of the Public Health England report on the impact of covid-19 on the BAME community.

Public Health England led a rapid review to better understand how different factors can impact on how people are affected by COVID-19. This includes analysis of ethnicity, deprivation, age, sex (male and female) and obesity, where data was available. The review’s findings have now been published and can be viewed at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-review-of-disparities-in-risks-and-outcomes

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
12th May 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the paper by Alisa Fox et al. titled Evidence of a significant secretory-IgA-dominant SARS-CoV-2 immune response in human milk following recovery from COVID-19, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of applying the findings of the study of antibodies in human breast milk to the treatment of covid-19.

The importance of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 is recognised in the search for effective treatments for COVID-19 infection. At present there are a range of clinical trial initiatives in the United Kingdom in which treatments are being carefully evaluated, including. Some known sources of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. The REMAP-CAP clinical trial involves two sites at which plasma from patients who are convalescing after COVID-19 infection are being clinically evaluated. Plasma is collected at least 28 days after recovery so that antibody levels have increased significantly.

Other initiatives are bringing forward candidate treatments that, although promising, cannot be immediately deployed as they will require further research before they can be safely evaluated in human trials. Alternative sources of antibodies, such as the source described in this publication, may be in scope for consideration if other approaches fail.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
16th Mar 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to ensure the maintenance of the supply of infant formula during the covid-19 outbreak.

The Department is aware of some recent local food stockpiling issues and is in discussion with industry to ensure a continued supply of infant formula. Additionally, the British Specialist Nutrition Association Ltd who represent manufacturers of formula, have put out a note of reassurance to parents on both their website and via Twitter to allay concerns and to ask people to be considerate in the way they shop to ensure an adequate supply of formula remains available to all. This dialogue with the formula industry will remain active and we will continue to monitor the situation.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
19th Dec 2019
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of drugs policy in reducing the rate of infection from blood borne viruses.

There is good evidence that a combined approach of harm reduction programmes such as needle and syringe programmes (NSP), opioid substitution treatment and abstinence-based treatment is the most effective way to tackle public health harms, including the spread of blood borne viruses (BBVs). Vaccination, testing and treatment of infection are also effective in the control of BBVs.

Public Health England monitors drug treatment data and anonymous testing of blood samples from people using drug treatment services or NSP. The data show that these interventions have been effective in reducing BBVs in people who inject drugs (PWID). For example, the proportion of PWID who have ever been infected with hepatitis B in England, Wales and Northern Ireland has declined over the past 10 years, falling from 18% in 2008 to 9% in 2018. In addition, HIV infection is uncommon among PWID in the United Kingdom, and HIV prevalence in this risk group is low compared to many other European countries. Overall, there were 95 new HIV diagnoses in the UK during 2018 which were likely to have been acquired through injecting drug use, down from 170 in 2008.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
7th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the safety of Afghan people who have been accepted for transfer to the UK who have remained in Pakistan after 1 November 2023.

We are in close contact with the Government of Pakistan to try to ensure that Afghans eligible to resettle in the UK are not subject to deportation. The former Foreign Secretary, received assurances from Foreign Minister Jilani on 27 October that they would be safe (recorded in their exchange on X (formerly Twitter) the same day). We have provided photo ID approved by the Government of Pakistan to all eligible families to show that they are part of the UK's schemes. And we have provided guidance to those families on what to do if they are approached by the police and a telephone number to allow them to contact the British High Commission if needed.

Leo Docherty
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
19th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many expressions of interest have been made to the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme in each month since the opening of that scheme.

The FCDO launched an online system on 20 June 2022, where eligible individuals were able to express an interest in UK resettlement under the first stage of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) Pathway 3. The online system remained open for 8 weeks and closed on 15 August 2022. During these 8 weeks, the FCDO received over 11,400 expressions of interest (EOI) under the first stage of ACRS Pathway 3.

In June, we received approximately 2,900 EOIs (25 per cent of total), in July we received approximately 5,200 EOIs (46 per cent of total), and in August we received approximately 3,300 EOIs (29 per cent of total).

The FCDO has been in contact with all individuals who submitted expressions of interest (EOIs) under ACRS Pathway 3 in its first stage, and we have communicated an outcome on over 11,200 (98 per cent) of the over 11,400 EOIs received. We are continuing to work at pace to allocate remaining places, and will notify others of the outcome as quickly as we can.

Leo Docherty
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
3rd May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reason the Government does not publish the names of people who have lodged legal appeals against UK Government-imposed sanctions; and for what reason the Government does not publish whether law firms based in the UK are providing legal assistance to those individuals.

The Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 provides a robust, fair and transparent process for a designated person to firstly seek an administrative review of their designation and then, if not satisfied by the outcome, to challenge the decision by review in the High Court. In Court Review proceedings, the identities of claimants and their legal representatives are a matter of public record. Accordingly, the UK Government does not, as a matter of routine, deem it necessary to release specific information on law firms or their clients.

Lawyers must abide by their professional codes of conduct, enforced by independent regulators such as the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) and the Bar Standards Board (BSB). We welcome the fact that in response to the Russia crisis, the SRA stepped up spot checks and investigations to monitor and enforce compliance with the sanctions regime.

Andrew Mitchell
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
17th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will follow the steps taken by Canada and impose further sanctions on Iranians involved in the perpetration of torture and State hostage-taking of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori.

The UK has over 200 sanctions designations in place against Iran in relation to human rights, nuclear proliferation and terrorism. On 10 October, the UK used the dedicated Iran Human Rights sanctions regime to designate the so-called Morality Police, two of its leaders and five others for serious human rights violations. This brings the total to 85 individuals and two entities sanctioned under that regime. A full list is available on the UK Sanctions List https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uk-sanctions-list#full-publication-update-history

It is longstanding practice not to speculate on future sanctions designations, as to do so could reduce the impact of the designations.

Gillian Keegan
Secretary of State for Education
20th Jan 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has held recent discussions with her counterparts in Oman in order to seek their best endeavours in trying to persuade the Houthis to agree to a ceasefire in their military advance towards Marib.

UK Ministers engage regularly with their regional counterparts to encourage progress towards both a political solution and an end to the humanitarian suffering in Yemen. We welcome Oman's diplomatic efforts. The Foreign Secretary and I discussed Yemen with Omani Foreign Minister Sayd Badr and wider GCC Foreign Ministers in December 2021.

James Cleverly
Home Secretary
20th Jan 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has held with her counterparts in (a) the Government of Saudi Arabia and (b) the Government of Yemen on unconditionally (i) removing restrictions on the importation of fuel into Hodeidah; and what discussions she has had with those Government on opening up Sana’a International Airport for direct international flights for aid workers, journalists, humanitarian aid and seriously ill people.

The UK engages regularly with the Governments of Yemen, Saudi Arabia and with the UN to press for the swift release of fuel ships from the Coalition Holding Area. HMA Sana'a last raised the issue at the meeting of Yemen Quad Ambassadors on 14 December.

James Cleverly
Home Secretary
20th Jan 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an estimate of the number of seriously ill people who are unable to leave Yemen for treatment by air from Sana’a International Airport since the war in Yemen began and Saudi Arabia closed the airspace.

We are aware that information about individuals wishing to leave Yemen via Sana'a International Airport has in the past been shared by the Houthis with the UN. However, due to restrictions in place, it is not possible to verify the accuracy of the information. The UK continues to lobby the parties to end restrictions on humanitarian access across Yemen.

James Cleverly
Home Secretary
20th Jan 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had on the reported Houthi offer of direct talks in Sanna with representatives of Saudi Arabia, UAE, the US and the UK; and if she will make a statement.

A negotiated political settlement is the only way to bring long-term stability to Yemen. The UK supports fully the efforts of the UN Special Envoy, Hans Grundberg, to drive forward the political process in Yemen. The Foreign Secretary and Ministers continue to lobby the parties to engage constructively with the Special Envoy.

James Cleverly
Home Secretary
19th May 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what specific assistance his Department is providing to Nepal in response to the covid-19 pandemic.

The UK Government is one of the leading donors to Covax, committing £548m to the scheme, which will provide more than a billion vaccines to developing countries including doses for almost a fifth of Nepal's population. The UK has funded a new £180,000 duplex oxygen generation plant at the Nepal Police Hospital in Kathmandu to help address oxygen shortages to treat COVID19 patients. On 19 and 20 May Lord Ahmad held meetings with Foreign Minister Gyawali and the Nepalese Ambassador to discuss what further support the UK could offer.

16th Nov 2023
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing half of all marketing spend to be included in the qualifying costs of Theatre Tax Relief.

The government recognises the value of the UK’s world-leading theatre sector. At Spring Budget 2023, the Government went further to support theatres by extending the 45 per cent (for non-touring productions) and 50 per cent (for touring productions) rates of TTR for a further 2 years.

Whilst the Government keeps all tax reliefs under review, the Government is not planning to expand the scope of Theatre Tax Relief (TTR) to include 50 per cent of marketing spend. The objective of theatre tax relief is to support and incentivise production and that is why eligible expenditure is focussed on the costs that are incurred producing and closing the theatrical production, rather than marketing.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
16th Nov 2023
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of permanently extending the higher rate of Theatre Tax Relief.

The government recognises the value of the UK’s world-leading theatre sector.

That is why at Spring Budget 2023, the government went further to support theatres by announcing a 2-year extension to the current 45% (for non-touring productions) and 50% (for touring productions) rates of theatre tax relief (TTR). These rates will now taper to 30%/35% on 1 April 2025 and return to 20%/25% on 1 April 2026.

The government is not currently considering making the 45%/50% rates of TTR permanent, however, the government keeps the tax system under review.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
7th Nov 2023
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many private limited companies that formed in 2021 have filed accounts with HMRC as of 7 November 2023.

HMRC has interpreted this question to refer to details of Corporation Tax (CT) returns filed by companies incorporated in 2021.

The deadline for filing all of those CT returns has not yet been reached, and some companies will have, or may still inform HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) that they are not trading, therefore HMRC would not expect returns from them. Given this, up to date and accurate information cannot be provided.

Victoria Atkins
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
21st Mar 2023
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of changes in the Government’s energy support schemes on the economy.

At Spring Budget 2023, the OBR forecast that taken together, the freezing of fuel duty, changes to alcohol duty and the extension of the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) for three months lower CPI inflation by 0.7 percentage points in 2023-24.

The OBR forecast that overall the EPG, including the prior announcement at Autumn Statement, will take 2 percentage points off CPI inflation in the year 2023.The subsequent increases to fuel and alcohol duties and the EPG measure then add 0.4 percentage points to CPI inflation in 2024-25.

James Cartlidge
Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
10th Oct 2022
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he had discussions with (a) Crispin Odey, (b) other representatives of Odey Asset Management and (c) representatives of other hedge funds in the (i) two weeks prior and (ii) three days after his statement to the House on 22 September 2022.

Treasury ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.

Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel.

Andrew Griffith
Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
16th May 2022
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much HM Revenue and Customs spent on the employment of communications staff in 2021-22.

Expenditure on communications staffing was £17.25m in 2021/22.

Lucy Frazer
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
1st Mar 2022
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many communications staff are employed (a) full time, (b) part time and (c) with flexible working arrangements in HMRC.

The number of staff working in HMRC to deliver communications functions is currently 256.

217 are employed on full time contracts and 39 are employed on part time contracts. All staff are considered to have flexible working arrangements.

Lucy Frazer
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
1st Mar 2022
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much HMRC spends on the employment of communications staff annually.

In the latest available financial year, 2020-21, expenditure on communications staffing was £11,456,277.48.

Lucy Frazer
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
1st Mar 2022
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department spends on the employment of communications staff annually.

In 2020/21, the last full year that data is available, HM Treasury spent £2,262,976 on the employment of communications staff.

Helen Whately
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
1st Mar 2022
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many communications staff are employed (a) full time, (b) part time and (c) with flexible working arrangements in his Department.

HM Treasury employs the following communications staff:

- 32 full time employees

- 2 part time employees

Helen Whately
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
24th Feb 2022
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to provide financial support to charitable and faith groups for increasing energy costs.

The Government recognises the impact rising energy prices will have on organisations of all sizes, and the contribution charitable and faith groups have provided through their work during the pandemic and beyond.

To support the sector though these challenges, we provided an unprecedented multi-billion-pound package of support for Britain's charities during the pandemic, including £750 million of dedicated funding that has helped more than 15,000 organisations across the country respond to the impact of Covid-19.

On 9 September 2021, the Government also announced the Faith New Deal Pilot Fund. Funding is available through a competitive grant programme for faith groups working on community projects in collaboration with local agencies and philanthropy.

Helen Whately
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
10th Feb 2022
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of erroneous registration data on its ability to recover payments from fraudulent applications to covid-19 support schemes.

The Government has provided around £400 billion of direct support for the economy since the start of the pandemic, which has helped to safeguard jobs, businesses and public services in every region and nation of the UK.

The Government takes the issue of potential fraud relating to covid support schemes extremely seriously. Robust measures were put in place to control error and fraud in the key covid support schemes from their inception.

Departments are required to disclose details of material fraud, evasion and error within their annual report and accounts, which can be found on GOV.UK. From 2021-22, departments must provide an evidenced estimate of the level of fraud and error specifically in respect of the COVID-19 related schemes they administer and the level of debt as a result of that fraud and error.

In relation to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), HMRC prioritised getting money to those who needed it with the schemes designed to minimise fraud while not unnecessarily delaying payments. The schemes were designed to prevent fraud, both in the eligibility criteria and the claim process itself.

As recovering funds lost to organised criminals is especially difficult, HMRC prioritised tackling this risk before payments were made. Eligibility has been limited to employees and the self-employed who already had a tax footprint, which gives HMRC greater confidence these are not ‘bogus’ claims falsified to look like real businesses. HMRC also put in place a series of checks on claims before they are paid so that HMRC were able to block those that are highly indicative of criminal activity. In addition, HMRC is able to investigate suspect payments that did not meet the threshold for pre-payment blocks post-payment, using their full range of civil and criminal powers and tools.

In relation to the CJRS specifically, HMRC ensured that the claims service captured all the data necessary to enable post payment compliance and only accepted claims from employers known to and authenticated by HMRC. HMRC have actively prevented non-eligible employers from applying. Claimants are required to provide details of who has been furloughed and for how long, providing HMRC with clear data against which to make checks.

Regarding the SEISS, claimants had to have made a 2018/19 self-assessment tax return in order to claim grants 1 to 3 and a 2019/20 tax return to claim grants 4 and 5. The amount they claim is based on tax returns previously submitted to HMRC. In addition, compliance activity is underway in respect of those claimants who have indicated on their tax returns that their self-employment has ceased, but claimed a SEISS grant. If HMRC identify grants have been claimed when the person is not eligible, then recovery of the overpaid amounts is undertaken, with appropriate penalties being issued to those most egregious of cases. HMRC have also implemented pre-claim verification checks on those customers who have submitted 2019/20 returns as newly self-employed. The purpose of these checks is to establish that the return is from a genuine person, and they are undertaking self-employed activity.

Eat Out to Help Out ran for one month in August 2020. HMRC’s risk analysis identified customers whose claims indicated significantly supressed turnover and/or an inflated claim. HMRC launched a campaign aimed at encouraging these customers to repay excess claims (although where HMRC believe something is clearly egregious, they move straight to direct intervention). Customers who presented a risk following this campaign were triaged for further activity. HMRC also directly investigated around 800 of the highest risk cases.

Regarding Bounce Back Loans (BBLS), lenders were required to make and maintain appropriate anti-fraud, anti-money laundering and Know Your Customer checks. Specifically, lenders must use a reputable fraud bureau (such as The UK’s Fraud Prevention Community CIFAS’s fraud prevention and detection solution SIRA) to screen against potential or known fraudsters. If an application fails the lender’s fraud checks, the lender must not offer a loan.

In addition to these lender checks, further checks include the duplicate loan check, incorporation date check and the change in director check that were introduced in June 2020. These minimum standards were agreed following consultation with PWC and lenders on what would have the biggest impact on preventing fraud while still meeting the policy objectives.

Under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS), lenders were able to conduct full credit checks on borrowers in line with business as usual processes and thus verify the financial information provided by borrowers, with less reliance on information self-certified by the borrower (as is the case under BBLS). This reduces fraud risk by allowing lenders to assure themselves that borrowers are not providing false information in order to obtain funds.

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
10th Feb 2022
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of applications to the (a) Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, (b) Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, (c) Eat out to Help Out, (d) Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, (e) Bounce Back Loan Scheme and (f) Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme that were submitted with erroneous registration data has his Department identified as involving fraud.

The Government has provided around £400 billion of direct support for the economy since the start of the pandemic, which has helped to safeguard jobs, businesses and public services in every region and nation of the UK.

The Government takes the issue of potential fraud relating to covid support schemes extremely seriously. Robust measures were put in place to control error and fraud in the key covid support schemes from their inception.

Departments are required to disclose details of material fraud, evasion and error within their annual report and accounts, which can be found on GOV.UK. From 2021-22, departments must provide an evidenced estimate of the level of fraud and error specifically in respect of the COVID-19 related schemes they administer and the level of debt as a result of that fraud and error.

In relation to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), HMRC prioritised getting money to those who needed it with the schemes designed to minimise fraud while not unnecessarily delaying payments. The schemes were designed to prevent fraud, both in the eligibility criteria and the claim process itself.

As recovering funds lost to organised criminals is especially difficult, HMRC prioritised tackling this risk before payments were made. Eligibility has been limited to employees and the self-employed who already had a tax footprint, which gives HMRC greater confidence these are not ‘bogus’ claims falsified to look like real businesses. HMRC also put in place a series of checks on claims before they are paid so that HMRC were able to block those that are highly indicative of criminal activity. In addition, HMRC is able to investigate suspect payments that did not meet the threshold for pre-payment blocks post-payment, using their full range of civil and criminal powers and tools.

In relation to the CJRS specifically, HMRC ensured that the claims service captured all the data necessary to enable post payment compliance and only accepted claims from employers known to and authenticated by HMRC. HMRC have actively prevented non-eligible employers from applying. Claimants are required to provide details of who has been furloughed and for how long, providing HMRC with clear data against which to make checks.

Regarding the SEISS, claimants had to have made a 2018/19 self-assessment tax return in order to claim grants 1 to 3 and a 2019/20 tax return to claim grants 4 and 5. The amount they claim is based on tax returns previously submitted to HMRC. In addition, compliance activity is underway in respect of those claimants who have indicated on their tax returns that their self-employment has ceased, but claimed a SEISS grant. If HMRC identify grants have been claimed when the person is not eligible, then recovery of the overpaid amounts is undertaken, with appropriate penalties being issued to those most egregious of cases. HMRC have also implemented pre-claim verification checks on those customers who have submitted 2019/20 returns as newly self-employed. The purpose of these checks is to establish that the return is from a genuine person, and they are undertaking self-employed activity.

Eat Out to Help Out ran for one month in August 2020. HMRC’s risk analysis identified customers whose claims indicated significantly supressed turnover and/or an inflated claim. HMRC launched a campaign aimed at encouraging these customers to repay excess claims (although where HMRC believe something is clearly egregious, they move straight to direct intervention). Customers who presented a risk following this campaign were triaged for further activity. HMRC also directly investigated around 800 of the highest risk cases.

Regarding Bounce Back Loans (BBLS), lenders were required to make and maintain appropriate anti-fraud, anti-money laundering and Know Your Customer checks. Specifically, lenders must use a reputable fraud bureau (such as The UK’s Fraud Prevention Community CIFAS’s fraud prevention and detection solution SIRA) to screen against potential or known fraudsters. If an application fails the lender’s fraud checks, the lender must not offer a loan.

In addition to these lender checks, further checks include the duplicate loan check, incorporation date check and the change in director check that were introduced in June 2020. These minimum standards were agreed following consultation with PWC and lenders on what would have the biggest impact on preventing fraud while still meeting the policy objectives.

Under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS), lenders were able to conduct full credit checks on borrowers in line with business as usual processes and thus verify the financial information provided by borrowers, with less reliance on information self-certified by the borrower (as is the case under BBLS). This reduces fraud risk by allowing lenders to assure themselves that borrowers are not providing false information in order to obtain funds.

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
10th Feb 2022
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of applications to the (a) Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, (b) Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, (c) Eat out to Help Out, (d) Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, (e) Bounce Back Loan Scheme and (f) Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme that were submitted with erroneous registration data; and how many and what proportion of those applications involve fraud.

The Government has provided around £400 billion of direct support for the economy since the start of the pandemic, which has helped to safeguard jobs, businesses and public services in every region and nation of the UK.

The Government takes the issue of potential fraud relating to covid support schemes extremely seriously. Robust measures were put in place to control error and fraud in the key covid support schemes from their inception.

Departments are required to disclose details of material fraud, evasion and error within their annual report and accounts, which can be found on GOV.UK. From 2021-22, departments must provide an evidenced estimate of the level of fraud and error specifically in respect of the COVID-19 related schemes they administer and the level of debt as a result of that fraud and error.

In relation to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), HMRC prioritised getting money to those who needed it with the schemes designed to minimise fraud while not unnecessarily delaying payments. The schemes were designed to prevent fraud, both in the eligibility criteria and the claim process itself.

As recovering funds lost to organised criminals is especially difficult, HMRC prioritised tackling this risk before payments were made. Eligibility has been limited to employees and the self-employed who already had a tax footprint, which gives HMRC greater confidence these are not ‘bogus’ claims falsified to look like real businesses. HMRC also put in place a series of checks on claims before they are paid so that HMRC were able to block those that are highly indicative of criminal activity. In addition, HMRC is able to investigate suspect payments that did not meet the threshold for pre-payment blocks post-payment, using their full range of civil and criminal powers and tools.

In relation to the CJRS specifically, HMRC ensured that the claims service captured all the data necessary to enable post payment compliance and only accepted claims from employers known to and authenticated by HMRC. HMRC have actively prevented non-eligible employers from applying. Claimants are required to provide details of who has been furloughed and for how long, providing HMRC with clear data against which to make checks.

Regarding the SEISS, claimants had to have made a 2018/19 self-assessment tax return in order to claim grants 1 to 3 and a 2019/20 tax return to claim grants 4 and 5. The amount they claim is based on tax returns previously submitted to HMRC. In addition, compliance activity is underway in respect of those claimants who have indicated on their tax returns that their self-employment has ceased, but claimed a SEISS grant. If HMRC identify grants have been claimed when the person is not eligible, then recovery of the overpaid amounts is undertaken, with appropriate penalties being issued to those most egregious of cases. HMRC have also implemented pre-claim verification checks on those customers who have submitted 2019/20 returns as newly self-employed. The purpose of these checks is to establish that the return is from a genuine person, and they are undertaking self-employed activity.

Eat Out to Help Out ran for one month in August 2020. HMRC’s risk analysis identified customers whose claims indicated significantly supressed turnover and/or an inflated claim. HMRC launched a campaign aimed at encouraging these customers to repay excess claims (although where HMRC believe something is clearly egregious, they move straight to direct intervention). Customers who presented a risk following this campaign were triaged for further activity. HMRC also directly investigated around 800 of the highest risk cases.

Regarding Bounce Back Loans (BBLS), lenders were required to make and maintain appropriate anti-fraud, anti-money laundering and Know Your Customer checks. Specifically, lenders must use a reputable fraud bureau (such as The UK’s Fraud Prevention Community CIFAS’s fraud prevention and detection solution SIRA) to screen against potential or known fraudsters. If an application fails the lender’s fraud checks, the lender must not offer a loan.

In addition to these lender checks, further checks include the duplicate loan check, incorporation date check and the change in director check that were introduced in June 2020. These minimum standards were agreed following consultation with PWC and lenders on what would have the biggest impact on preventing fraud while still meeting the policy objectives.

Under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS), lenders were able to conduct full credit checks on borrowers in line with business as usual processes and thus verify the financial information provided by borrowers, with less reliance on information self-certified by the borrower (as is the case under BBLS). This reduces fraud risk by allowing lenders to assure themselves that borrowers are not providing false information in order to obtain funds.

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
1st Feb 2022
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of (a) Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, (b) Self Employment Income Support Scheme, (c) Eat out to Help Out, (d) Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, (e) Bounce Back Loan Scheme and (f) Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme payments that involved fraud cannot be recovered by his Department due to erroneous registration data.

The Government has provided around £400 billion of direct support for the economy since the start of the pandemic, which has helped to safeguard jobs, businesses and public services in every region and nation of the UK.

The Government takes the issue of potential fraud relating to covid support schemes extremely seriously. Robust measures were put in place to control error and fraud in the key covid support schemes from their inception.

In relation to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), HMRC prioritised getting money to those who needed it with the schemes designed to minimise fraud while not unnecessarily delaying payments. The schemes were designed to prevent fraud, both in the eligibility criteria and the claim process itself.

As recovering funds lost to organised criminals is especially difficult, HMRC prioritised tackling this risk before payments were made. Eligibility has been limited to employees and the self-employed who already had a tax footprint, which gives HMRC greater confidence these are not ‘bogus’ claims falsified to look like real businesses. HMRC also put in place a series of checks on claims before they are paid so that HMRC were able to block those that are highly indicative of criminal activity. In addition, HMRC is able to investigate suspect payments that did not meet the threshold for pre-payment blocks post-payment, using their full range of civil and criminal powers and tools.

In relation to the CJRS specifically, HMRC ensured that the claims service captured all the data necessary to enable post payment compliance and only accepted claims from employers known to and authenticated by HMRC. HMRC have actively prevented non-eligible employers from applying. Claimants are required to provide details of who has been furloughed and for how long, providing HMRC with clear data against which to make checks.

Regarding the SEISS, claimants had to have made a 2018/19 self-assessment tax return in order to claim grants 1 to 3 and a 2019/20 tax return to claim grants 4 and 5. The amount they claim is based on tax returns previously submitted to HMRC. In addition, compliance activity is underway in respect of those claimants who have indicated on their tax returns that their self-employment has ceased but claimed a SEISS grant. If HMRC identify grants have been claimed when the person is not eligible, then recovery of the overpaid amounts is undertaken, with appropriate penalties being issued to those most egregious of cases. HMRC have also implemented pre-claim verification checks on those customers who have submitted 2019/20 returns as newly self-employed. The purpose of these checks is to establish that the return is from a genuine person, and they are undertaking self-employed activity.

Eat Out to Help Out scheme ran for one month in August 2020. HMRC’s risk analysis identified customers whose claims indicated significantly supressed turnover and/or an inflated claim. HMRC launched a campaign aimed at encouraging these customers to repay excess claims (although where HMRC believe something is clearly egregious, they moved straight to direct intervention). Customers who presented a risk following this campaign were triaged for further activity. HMRC also directly investigated around 800 of the highest risk cases.

Regarding Bounce Back Loans (BBLS), lenders were required to make and maintain appropriate anti-fraud, anti-money laundering and Know Your Customer checks. Specifically, lenders must use a reputable fraud bureau (such as The UK’s Fraud Prevention Community CIFAS’s fraud prevention and detection solution SIRA) to screen against potential or known fraudsters. If an application fails the lender’s fraud checks, the lender must not offer a loan.

In addition to these lender checks, further checks include the duplicate loan check, incorporation date check and the change in director check that were introduced in June 2020. These minimum standards were agreed following consultation with PWC and lenders on what would have the biggest impact on preventing fraud while still meeting the policy objectives.

Under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS), lenders were able to conduct full credit checks on borrowers in line with business as usual processes and thus verify the financial information provided by borrowers, with less reliance on information self-certified by the borrower (as is the case under BBLS). This reduces fraud risk by allowing lenders to assure themselves that borrowers are not providing false information in order to obtain funds.

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
24th Jan 2022
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was raised in VAT on (a) gas, (b) electricity and (c) heating oil in each of the past of ten years.

The information requested is not available. HMRC does not hold information on VAT revenue from specific products or services because businesses are not required to provide figures at a product level on their VAT returns, as this would impose an excessive administrative burden.

Lucy Frazer
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
24th Jan 2022
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was raised in VAT on (a) petrol and (b) diesel in each of the past of ten years.

The information requested is not available. HMRC does not hold information on VAT revenue from specific products or services because businesses are not required to provide figures at a product level on their VAT returns, as this would impose an excessive administrative burden.

Lucy Frazer
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
20th Jan 2022
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his plans are for the future of Government-guaranteed loan schemes.

The Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) is currently open UK-wide to SMEs and is due to close to new loan applications on 30 June 2022. Lenders can offer loans, overdrafts, and invoice and asset finance up to £2 million, with a minimum loan size of £25,001 for term loans and overdrafts, and £1,000 for invoice and asset finance. The Government provides a 70% guarantee to lenders on each loan.

The Government keeps all schemes under review.

Helen Whately
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
15th Dec 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with lenders on forbearance measures on Bounce Back Loans in response to the spread of the omicron covid-19 variant.

Treasury Ministers and officials meet regularly with a wide range of stakeholders, including representatives of the financial services industry. Details of ministerial and senior officials’ meetings are available online at: https://www.gov.uk/search/transparency-and-freedom-of-information-releases?organisations%5B%5D=hm-treasury&parent=hm-treasury.

To give businesses further support and flexibility in making their BBLS repayments, the Chancellor announced "Pay as You Grow" (PAYG) options which give businesses the option to repay their BBLS facility over ten years. Businesses also have the option to move temporarily to interest-only payments for periods of up to six months (an option which they can use up to three times), or to pause their repayments entirely for up to six months. If borrowers want to take advantage of this option, they should notify their lender when they are contacted about their repayments.

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
15th Dec 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he is has contingency plans to reinstate the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme in response to the spread of the omicron covid-19 variant.

As we have done throughout the pandemic, we are closely monitoring the impact of COVID-19 on the economy. We will continue to respond proportionately to the changing path of the virus.

Since the start of the pandemic, the Government has a strong track record of responding quickly, flexibly, and comprehensively in supporting jobs, businesses, individuals, and families when needed.

The effectiveness of our £400 billion package of interventions since the start of the pandemic and the strength of the recovery that we have seen from previous waves means the economy is in a different place now.

Employee numbers are above February 2020 levels in every part of the country and have grown consistently through this year.

So, it is right that our economic response in the face of Omicron adapts too, and that our support is better targeted at the businesses that need it the most, providing better value for taxpayers and helping the economy to bounce back more quickly.

However, we recognise the impact that Omicron and Government guidance is having on businesses and individuals, which is why on 21 December 2021 we announced £1 billion of new grant support for the hospitality, leisure, and cultural sectors, and reintroduced the Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme. This is on top of the existing package of support, in place through to Spring 2022, which includes the Recovery Loan Scheme, business rates relief, VAT reduction, and the ongoing commercial rent moratorium.

Lucy Frazer
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
15th Dec 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what funding will be allocated to each of the devolved Administrations to help tackle the omicron covid-19 variant.

At Autumn Budget the UK Government confirmed the devolved administrations were receiving an extra £12.6 billion of Barnett-based funding this year.

On top of this, the UK Government has now confirmed a further £860 million to help the devolved administrations tackle the Omicron variant. This provides the devolved administrations with the certainty they requested to spend more money in advance of the usual process for confirming final Barnett consequentials in the coming weeks.

We have already doubled this new funding, from £430 million, and will continue to keep this under review.

17th Nov 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 10 November 2021 to Questions 68337 and 68338 on Banks: Corporation Tax, whether his Department has made an estimate of the potential impact of the increase in corporation tax on receipts solely from banks.

No separate assessment of the increase in corporation tax receipts solely from banks has been made. HMRC does publish statistics on corporation tax receipts from banks, which can be found at this link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/paye-and-corporation-tax-receipts-from-the-banking-sector

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
2nd Nov 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of the decrease in the bank surcharge on bank profits in each of the next ten financial years.

The Exchequer impacts of the decrease in the Bank Surcharge rate announced 2021 Autumn Budget are set out in table 5.1 of the Autumn Budget and Spending Review document 2021.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/autumn-budget-and-spending-review-2021-documents

The Exchequer impacts assume that changing the tax rate will increase the incentive on banking companies to shift profits into the UK.

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
2nd Nov 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of the decrease in the bank surcharge on revenue in each of the next ten financial years.

The Exchequer impacts of the decrease in the Bank Surcharge rate announced 2021 Autumn Budget are set out in table 5.1 of the Autumn Budget and Spending Review document 2021.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/autumn-budget-and-spending-review-2021-documents

The Exchequer impacts assume that changing the tax rate will increase the incentive on banking companies to shift profits into the UK.

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
2nd Nov 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the decrease in the Bank Corporation Tax Surcharge in each of the next 10 financial years.

The Exchequer impacts of the decrease in the Bank Surcharge rate announced 2021 Autumn Budget are set out in table 5.1 of the Autumn Budget and Spending Review document 2021.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/autumn-budget-and-spending-review-2021-documents

The Exchequer impacts assume that changing the tax rate will increase the incentive on banking companies to shift profits into the UK.

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
2nd Nov 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of the increase in corporation tax on UK bank profits ​in each of the next ten financial years.

The Exchequer impacts of the increase in corporation taxes announced in the 2021 Spring Budget are set out in table 5.2 of the Autumn Budget and Spending Review document.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/autumn-budget-and-spending-review-2021-documents

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
2nd Nov 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of the increase in corporation tax on the revenue of UK banks in each of the next ten financial years.

The Exchequer impacts of the increase in corporation taxes announced in the 2021 Spring Budget are set out in table 5.2 of the Autumn Budget and Spending Review document.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/autumn-budget-and-spending-review-2021-documents

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
19th Jul 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of cross-jurisdictional consistency when the Government implements the UK’s sustainability disclosure requirements.

The Chancellor used his 2021 Mansion House speech to announce economy-wide Sustainability Disclosure Requirements for businesses and investment products to report on their impact on climate and the environment – and the risks and opportunities these pose to their business.

Cross-jurisdictional consistency and adopting international standards will form a key component of these requirements, which will streamline and build on existing sustainability reporting requirements such as our commitment to mandatory economy-wide disclosures aligned with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, where the UK is already a world-leader. The regime will also incorporate considerations around adopting the global corporate reporting standard for sustainability being developed by the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation.

The Government intends to legislate to deliver this and will publish a Roadmap setting out its approach to green finance regulation ahead of COP26.

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
19th Jul 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to publish further detail on the UK sustainable fund disclosure framework, announced in his Mansion House Speech on 1 July 2021.

The Chancellor used his 2021 Mansion House speech to announce economy-wide Sustainability Disclosure Requirements for businesses and investment products to report on their impact on climate and the environment – and the risks and opportunities these pose to their business.

Cross-jurisdictional consistency and adopting international standards will form a key component of these requirements, which will streamline and build on existing sustainability reporting requirements such as our commitment to mandatory economy-wide disclosures aligned with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, where the UK is already a world-leader. The regime will also incorporate considerations around adopting the global corporate reporting standard for sustainability being developed by the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation.

The Government intends to legislate to deliver this and will publish a Roadmap setting out its approach to green finance regulation ahead of COP26.

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
22nd Jun 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to increase the number of banks participating in the Business Banking Resolution service.

The Government welcomes the recent launch of Business Banking Resolution Service (BBRS), a free and independent service designed to settle unresolved complaints from SMEs about their bank.

The Government has set out high level guidance regarding what the BBRS should look to achieve. In 2018, the then Chancellor wrote to the BBRS signalling that for the scheme to bring closure it is vital that it considers as many complaints as possible, but also that it is right the scheme focuses on providing resolution to SMEs who have not had anywhere independent to take their complaint. Beyond this high-level guidance, it is not for the Government to comment on specific details about the eligibility of a voluntary, non-governmental service.

On increasing the number of banks participating in the BBRS, the service launched with 7 founding banks who make up the majority of the UK banking sector, and it is understood that the BBRS hopes additional lenders will join over time. It is not for Government to mandate participation in an industry-led, independent organisation.

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
22nd Jun 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to expand the eligibility criteria for the Business Banking Resolution Service.

The Government welcomes the recent launch of Business Banking Resolution Service (BBRS), a free and independent service designed to settle unresolved complaints from SMEs about their bank.

The Government has set out high level guidance regarding what the BBRS should look to achieve. In 2018, the then Chancellor wrote to the BBRS signalling that for the scheme to bring closure it is vital that it considers as many complaints as possible, but also that it is right the scheme focuses on providing resolution to SMEs who have not had anywhere independent to take their complaint. Beyond this high-level guidance, it is not for the Government to comment on specific details about the eligibility of a voluntary, non-governmental service.

On increasing the number of banks participating in the BBRS, the service launched with 7 founding banks who make up the majority of the UK banking sector, and it is understood that the BBRS hopes additional lenders will join over time. It is not for Government to mandate participation in an industry-led, independent organisation.

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
7th Jun 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many HMRC employees were located in Scotland (a) in March 2011 and (b) at the most recent date on which his Department has collated that information.

Based on the HMRC organisational structure for March 2011 and May 2021, the numbers of employees located in Scotland were:

Headcount, March 2011 = 9,918

Headcount, May 2021 = 7,817

22nd Apr 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will list the (a) locations, (b) size, (c) charitable status and (d) sectors of organisations that have benefited from social investment tax relief in each of the last five years.

The requirement to maintain taxpayer confidentiality means it is not possible to disclose which specific businesses have used the Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR) to raise investment.

The registered locations of enterprises benefitting from SITR in this period are as follows:

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

East Midlands

Fewer than 5

0

5

Fewer than 5

0

East of England

0

0

0

5

5

London

0

5

5

Fewer than 5

5

North East

Fewer than 5

0

0

0

0

North West

Fewer than 5

5

5

Fewer than 5

5

Scotland

0

10

Fewer than 5

5

5

South East

Fewer than 5

0

Fewer than 5

5

20

South West

Fewer than 5

Fewer than 5

10

5

10

Wales

Fewer than 5

Fewer than 5

Fewer than 5

0

Fewer than 5

West Midlands

0

5

10

5

20

Yorkshire & Humber

0

0

Fewer than 5

Fewer than 5

0

Total

5

25

35

25

75

Numbers have been rounded to the nearest five. Individual locations may not sum up to the total due to rounding. In order to maintain taxpayer confidentiality, any location with fewer than five organisations has been defined as ‘fewer than 5’.

Information on the other requested characteristics of social enterprises using SITR is not readily available and cannot be provided within the time available.

In order to qualify for SITR, enterprises must have fewer than 250 employees and less than £15 million gross assets at the time investment is received.

22nd Apr 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will list the organisations that have benefited from social investment tax relief in each of the last five years.

The requirement to maintain taxpayer confidentiality means it is not possible to disclose which specific businesses have used the Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR) to raise investment.

The registered locations of enterprises benefitting from SITR in this period are as follows:

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

East Midlands

Fewer than 5

0

5

Fewer than 5

0

East of England

0

0

0

5

5

London

0

5

5

Fewer than 5

5

North East

Fewer than 5

0

0

0

0

North West

Fewer than 5

5

5

Fewer than 5

5

Scotland

0

10

Fewer than 5

5

5

South East

Fewer than 5

0

Fewer than 5

5

20

South West

Fewer than 5

Fewer than 5

10

5

10

Wales

Fewer than 5

Fewer than 5

Fewer than 5

0

Fewer than 5

West Midlands

0

5

10

5

20

Yorkshire & Humber

0

0

Fewer than 5

Fewer than 5

0

Total

5

25

35

25

75

Numbers have been rounded to the nearest five. Individual locations may not sum up to the total due to rounding. In order to maintain taxpayer confidentiality, any location with fewer than five organisations has been defined as ‘fewer than 5’.

Information on the other requested characteristics of social enterprises using SITR is not readily available and cannot be provided within the time available.

In order to qualify for SITR, enterprises must have fewer than 250 employees and less than £15 million gross assets at the time investment is received.

16th Apr 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March to Question 164514, what the Barnett Consequentials are for (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland of his Budget 2021 announcement on funding for the Thalidomide Health Grant Renewal.

Further to my previous answer, at spending reviews the Barnett formula is generally applied to the overall change in each department’s funding, rather than being applied at programme level.

It is not therefore possible to specify the Barnett consequentials generated by the funding for the Thalidomide Health Grant Renewal at the 2020 Spending Review. However, I can confirm that the 2020 Spending Review provided the devolved administrations with a combined additional £4.7 billion for 2021-22 through the Barnett formula.

Funding for 2022-23 onwards will be determined at the upcoming spending review.

Steve Barclay
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
22nd Mar 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he received from former Prime Minister David Cameron on Government support to Greensill Capital; what responses were given; and when those responses were recorded.

Ministers routinely meet with a range of private sector stakeholders. Transparency releases are published on a quarterly basis and are currently publicly available for Ministerial meetings up to and including September 2020, which is in line with normal reporting timelines on disclosures.

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
16th Mar 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it is his policy to maintain the planned (a) NHS, (b) Department for Work and Pensions and (c) Scottish Government allocations in real terms over the OBR forecast periods irrespective of inflation levels.

As set out at Budget 2021, the government has maintained the Budget 2020 assumption of 2.1% real terms increases per year for core resource DEL spending after 2021-22, reflecting the latest OBR deflators. For capital DEL spending, the government has maintained the Budget 2020 assumption consistent with delivering over £600 billion in gross public sector investment over the next five years, the highest sustained levels of public sector net investment (PSNI) as a proportion of GDP since the late 1970s.

Specific allocations beyond 2021-22 are a matter for the Spending Review later this year, where the government will set future departmental resource DEL and capital DEL budgets as well as devolved administrations’ block grants. However, the government has already committed to a historic long-term settlement for the NHS with a cash increase of £33.9 billion a year by 2023-24. Further details on the Spending Review will be set out in due course.

Steve Barclay
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
16th Mar 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet and (b) devolved administration colleagues on the effect of (i) increased inflation and (ii) normalisation of the Government bond yield on public borrowing costs.

The Chancellor has regular discussions on macroeconomic policy with European and G7 counterparts. They all recognise the significant challenges ahead of us in the months to come. The G7 has an important role to play in steering the global economy, and as Chair of the G7 Finance Track, the Chancellor has discussed with colleagues how best to shape and respond to the phases of the global recovery from Covid-19. This includes the short- and medium-term economic challenges relating to both fiscal and monetary policy. The Chancellor will continue to work with colleagues over the coming months to learn from each other’s policy interventions, to recognise and manage spillover effects, and to support continued coordination on policy responses.

As highlighted in the Budget, while borrowing costs are affordable now, interest rates and inflation may not stay low forever. A sustained 1 percentage point increase in both interest rates and inflation would increase debt interest spending by £27.8bn in 2025-26.

It is important to take action as the economy durably recovers to limit the UK’s exposure to this risk and to build fiscal resilience. The Office for Budget Responsibility’s March 2021 forecast shows that the medium-term outlook for the public finances has returned to a more sustainable path, supported by the fiscal repair measures set out in the recent Budget.

Treasury Ministers have regular discussions with counterparts in the devolved administrations on matters of mutual interest.

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
16th Mar 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of (a) increased inflation and (b) normalisation of the Government bond yield on public borrowing costs.

The Chancellor has regular discussions on macroeconomic policy with European and G7 counterparts. They all recognise the significant challenges ahead of us in the months to come. The G7 has an important role to play in steering the global economy, and as Chair of the G7 Finance Track, the Chancellor has discussed with colleagues how best to shape and respond to the phases of the global recovery from Covid-19. This includes the short- and medium-term economic challenges relating to both fiscal and monetary policy. The Chancellor will continue to work with colleagues over the coming months to learn from each other’s policy interventions, to recognise and manage spillover effects, and to support continued coordination on policy responses.

As highlighted in the Budget, while borrowing costs are affordable now, interest rates and inflation may not stay low forever. A sustained 1 percentage point increase in both interest rates and inflation would increase debt interest spending by £27.8bn in 2025-26.

It is important to take action as the economy durably recovers to limit the UK’s exposure to this risk and to build fiscal resilience. The Office for Budget Responsibility’s March 2021 forecast shows that the medium-term outlook for the public finances has returned to a more sustainable path, supported by the fiscal repair measures set out in the recent Budget.

Treasury Ministers have regular discussions with counterparts in the devolved administrations on matters of mutual interest.

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
16th Mar 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with (a) European and (b) G7 counterparts of 2021 and 2022 inflation on government borrowing costs.

The Chancellor has regular discussions on macroeconomic policy with European and G7 counterparts. They all recognise the significant challenges ahead of us in the months to come. The G7 has an important role to play in steering the global economy, and as Chair of the G7 Finance Track, the Chancellor has discussed with colleagues how best to shape and respond to the phases of the global recovery from Covid-19. This includes the short- and medium-term economic challenges relating to both fiscal and monetary policy. The Chancellor will continue to work with colleagues over the coming months to learn from each other’s policy interventions, to recognise and manage spillover effects, and to support continued coordination on policy responses.

As highlighted in the Budget, while borrowing costs are affordable now, interest rates and inflation may not stay low forever. A sustained 1 percentage point increase in both interest rates and inflation would increase debt interest spending by £27.8bn in 2025-26.

It is important to take action as the economy durably recovers to limit the UK’s exposure to this risk and to build fiscal resilience. The Office for Budget Responsibility’s March 2021 forecast shows that the medium-term outlook for the public finances has returned to a more sustainable path, supported by the fiscal repair measures set out in the recent Budget.

Treasury Ministers have regular discussions with counterparts in the devolved administrations on matters of mutual interest.

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
8th Mar 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the Barnett Consquentials are for (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland of his Budget 2021 announcement on funding for the Thalidomide Health Grant Renewal.

At Budget 2021 a lifetime commitment was announced to continue the Thalidomide Health Grant in England once the existing funding commitment expires in 2023-24.

The devolved administrations have already received Barnett consequentials in the usual way for any funding provided to the Department of Health and Social Care at previous fiscal events and spending reviews up to 2021-22.

For 2022-23 onwards, the devolved administrations will receive funding through the Barnett formula at the upcoming spending review and future fiscal events. The government is committed to engaging closely with them to ensure all recipients benefit from this funding.

Steve Barclay
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
19th Feb 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will amend the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme to take into account periods of maternity leave.

The Government has amended the eligibility conditions of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) to extend eligibility to self-employed parents who were ineligible for the SEISS because they did not submit a tax return for 2018-19, or whose trading profits in 2018-19 were less than their other income because they were pregnant or taking time out of their trade to care for their new-born or newly adopted child.

These individuals were able to claim the past three SEISS grants using either their 2017-18 self-assessment return or an average of their 2016-17 and 2017-18 returns as the basis for their eligibility. They also needed to meet the other standard eligibility criteria for support under the SEISS.

This was not a fundamental change to the SEISS, but an amendment to bring these individuals into eligibility for the scheme. It did not affect the grant calculation for those who submitted a 2018/19 return and were already eligible.

For those already eligible, the calculation for the SEISS grants uses an average of the self-employed individual’s trading profits, which evens out fluctuations in earnings which self-employed people may experience for any number of reasons.

19th Feb 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will reduce VAT to 5 per cent for the hair and beauty industry.

The temporary reduced rate of VAT was introduced on 15 July to support the cash flow and viability of over 150,000 businesses and protect 2.4 million jobs in the hospitality and tourism sectors, and is due to run until 31 March 2021.

This policy will cost over £2 billion and is a temporary measure. The Government keeps all taxes under review, and all stakeholder views are carefully considered. Any future decisions on tax policy will be made at Budget.

The Government has announced a significant support package to help businesses from a range of sectors through the winter months, which includes an extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, an extension of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant, and an extension of the application window for the Government-backed loan schemes.

19th Feb 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government's announcement on 10 February 2021, whether the tax to be levied on the residential property development sector will apply in Scotland.

The Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government made an oral statement to the House of Commons on building safety on 10 February 2021.

That statement announced plans to introduce a new tax for the UK residential property development sector in 2022, to ensure the largest developers make a fair contribution to cladding remediation costs. The tax will apply on a UK-wide basis and the government will consult with industry on further policy design considerations in due course, to ensure the tax is proportionate and reflects developers’ ability to pay.

The tax will help fund a large spending package, and the devolved administrations will receive additional funding through the Barnett formula at future fiscal events and spending reviews, except where new departmental spending is funded by an England-only levy.

Steve Barclay
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
19th Feb 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government's statement of 10 February 2021 on unsafe cladding, whether those funds will be subject to Barnett consequentials.

The Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government made an oral statement to the House of Commons on building safety on 10 February 2021.

As set out in my answer of 22 February, the devolved administrations will receive additional funding through the Barnett formula at future fiscal events and spending reviews, except where new departmental spending is funded by an England-only levy. The devolved administrations can implement their own levies should they choose to do so.

Steve Barclay
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
12th Jan 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether people who have submitted tax returns for 2019-20 will be eligible to apply for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme from 31 January 2021.

The Government will continue to look for ways to improve the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). It continues to consider the matter carefully and work closely with stakeholders to explore how best to support different groups. The Government will set out further details on the fourth SEISS grant in due course.

The SEISS continues to be just one element of a comprehensive package of support for the self-employed. Those ineligible for the SEISS may still be eligible for other elements of the support available. The Universal Credit standard allowance has been temporarily increased for 2020-21 and the Minimum Income Floor relaxed for the duration of the crisis, so that where self-employed claimants' earnings have fallen significantly, their Universal Credit award will have increased to reflect their lower earnings. In addition to this, they may also have access to other elements of the package, including Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support, mortgage holidays, self-isolation support payments and other business support grants.

11th Jan 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to exempt people affected by dangerous cladding from Insurance Premium Tax.

Insurance Premium Tax is a tax paid by insurers on all general insurance premiums. Insurance pricing is a decision which is affected by a wide range of factors, and the taxes that insurers pay are just one part of this. It is hard to predict the impact of an exemption on insurance pricing for those affected by unsafe cladding, as this largely depends on how the insurers would react. In addition, any loss in tax revenue would have to be balanced by a reduction in public spending, increased borrowing or increased taxation elsewhere.

While there is no current plan to introduce an exemption on insurance pricing for those affected by unsafe cladding, all taxes are kept under review and the views expressed to us are carefully considered as part of the annual Budget process.

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
6th Jan 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether (a) post-natal pads and (b) all non-medical incontinence products and (c) breast pads are included in the zero rate announced on sanitary products on 1 January 2021.

The zero rate of VAT for women’s sanitary products was introduced on 1 January 2021. The zero rate applies to products which would have previously attracted the reduced rate and can be described as products which are designed and marketed solely for the absorption or collection of menstrual flow or lochia (discharge from the womb following childbirth). Examples include sanitary pads, tampons and maternity pads for the collection of lochia.

Further information on what is covered can be found in VAT Notice 701/18 on women’s sanitary products on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-on-womens-sanitary-products-notice-70118.

Retail sales of incontinence products are zero-rated, under a long-standing separate relief. Further information on this can be found in VAT Notice 701/7 on reliefs for disabled and older people on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-relief-on-certain-goods-if-you-have-a-disability.

30th Dec 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on (a) jobs, (b) investment and (c) profitability in the financial services sector.

The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement gives legal certainty for financial services firms, with commitments on market access and fair treatment. The Agreement supports firms providing cross-border financial services. Beneficial provisions ensure UK service suppliers travelling to the EU for short trips do not face undue barriers like work permits, and UK business visitors are permitted to stay in the EU for 90 days in any 180-day period. We have also agreed commitments on visa facilitation for professionals engaged in cross-border trade.

It is the first free trade agreement the EU has ever reached based on zero tariffs and zero quotas, which will provide benefits for jobs, investment and profitability in the financial services sector. The Agreement also establishes a stable foundation for us to develop a constructive and engaged relationship with the EU on financial services, as sovereign equals. Importantly we have also agreed with the EU that we will establish an MoU setting out the parameters for our regulatory cooperation.

The government has also taken further action which complements the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement and will facilitate the retention of jobs, investment in, and profitability of the financial services sector. To promote openness and provide clarity and stability for industry, the Government announced multiple equivalence decisions for EEA Member States where it made sense for the UK to do so.

The UK has long been a global hub, leader and pioneer in financial services and the Government has an ambitious strategy to strengthen our world-leading financial centre now that we have left the EU. This is centred upon building long-lasting financial partnerships around the world, maintaining the high regulatory standards that make the UK an attractive place to do business, and being at the forefront of innovation so we can create and seize opportunities in the markets of the future.

On 9 November, the Chancellor also set out plans to bolster the dynamism, openness and competitiveness of the sector – including issuing the UK’s first ever Sovereign Green Bond, becoming the first country in the world to make TCFD-aligned disclosures mandatory, reviewing the UK’s listings regime to attract the most innovative firms, and leading the global conversation on new technologies like stablecoins and Central Bank Digital Currencies. The announcements have been praised by industry for being supportive, pragmatic and positive.

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
30th Dec 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to seek a future agreement with the EU on financial services.

The Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the European Union gives legal certainty for financial services firms in line with recent EU precedent and provides a stable foundation for us to develop a constructive and engaged relationship with the EU on financial services, as sovereign equals. Alongside the Agreement, the UK and EU made a joint declaration that we will establish structured regulatory cooperation for financial services and agree by March 2021 a Memorandum of Understanding to provide a framework for this cooperation.

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
30th Dec 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he had with Cabinet colleagues on including financial services in the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement includes provisions on financial services, with important commitments on market access and fair treatment in line with recent EU precedent. The Government was clear throughout the negotiations that the Agreement should promote financial stability, market integrity, and investor and consumer protection for financial services, providing a predictable, transparent, and business-friendly environment for cross-border financial services business.

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
30th Dec 2020
Pay
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on (a) UK wages and (b) trends in the National Living Wage.

This is the first free trade agreement the EU has ever reached based on zero tariffs and zero quotas. It is an excellent outcome for families and businesses in every part of the UK. Businesses will be able to continue to trade smoothly, selling to their customers in the EU. From financial services through to automotive manufacturing, the deal protects high quality jobs and investment right across the UK. People will be able to continue to buy goods from Europe tariff-free, protecting consumer prices.

The Government remains committed to its longer-term target for the National Living Wage to reach two thirds of median earnings by 2024, provided economic conditions allow.

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
10th Dec 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the announcement of 10 December 2020 of a £400m funding package to Northern Ireland, what the Barnett consequentials from that package will be for (a) Scotland and (b) Wales.

The ‘New Deal for Northern Ireland’ addresses the unique circumstances resulting from the Northern Ireland Protocol. The funding provided by the UK government either supports the whole of the UK, notably in relation to trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, or relates to issues specific to Northern Ireland that do not exist in Scotland and Wales.

Providing additional funding to Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland for nation-specific issues on top of Barnett-based funding is fully consistent with the Statement of Funding Policy.

Scotland and Wales will similarly continue to receive direct investment from the UK Government on top of their Barnett-based funding to support growth and address nation-specific issues, including through the City and Regional Growth deals.

Steve Barclay
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
9th Dec 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will extend the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to enable employers to reclaim 100 per cent of the cost of a maternity suspension on full pay of a woman (a) who is 28 weeks pregnant or beyond and (b) pregnant and clinically extremely vulnerable or otherwise medically advised to shield.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) is available to all employers and employees providing they meet the eligibility criteria, and this includes the clinically extremely vulnerable.

In those cases where appropriate control measures or working from home cannot be put in place for pregnant employees, and so they are placed on a maternity suspension due to their personal health and safety risk, the employer should continue to pay the employees their full pay. It is up to employers to decide whether to furlough those employees who are at the highest risk of severe illness from coronavirus, and if they do, employers can use the CJRS grant to cover 80% of furloughed employees’ salaries, up to £2,500 per month.

Throughout the pandemic the Government’s economic priority has been to protect jobs and livelihoods. Since March, the Government has provided support for people, businesses and public services totalling an estimated £280 billion. In particular, businesses have received billions in loans, tax deferrals, business rate reliefs, and general and sector-specific grants. This support can be used by businesses to top up the CJRS grant, ensuring that they can suspend pregnant employees on full pay.

26th Nov 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what dates he met with representatives of (a) Excluded U.K., (b) Forgotten Ltd, (c) Forgotten PAYE, (d) Maternity Petition, (e) APPG Gaps in Support, (f) Annual PAYE, (g) New Starter Justice and (h) Refused Furlough.

Treasury ministers and officials have had meetings with a wide variety of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, including MPs, businesses, professional representative bodies, and the unions, throughout the development of the COVID-19 support package including both the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

This proactive engagement has been widely praised, and the Institute for Government has said: “The Government’s approach to consultation compensated for some of the difficulties of accelerated policy development, because it gave it fast access to information, and an early sense of whether the measures would work and how they would be received by businesses and workers. This contributed to both positive reception on announcement and successful roll-out.”

Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel.

12th Nov 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many supervised company formation agents HMRC visited from (a) 1 Jan 2018 to 31 Dec 2018 and (b) 1 Jan 2019 to 31 Dec 2019.

HMRC supervises businesses in nine sectors under the Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs), including those Trust or Company Service Providers (TCSPs) not supervised by other bodies. HMRC does not publish information relating to targeting of supervisory visits in particular sectors. Such information could be used by criminals to aid their efforts to attempt to launder money or finance terrorism.

HM Treasury publishes aggregate details of HMRC’s supervision activity in its annual “Anti-money laundering and counter terrorist finance supervision report”.

Since 8 May 2019, HMRC has not identified any company formation agents who should be but are not registered with HMRC.

HMRC’s Anti Money Laundering Supervision team employs 16 full time equivalent staff to identify businesses that should be registered with HMRC under the MLRs but are not. These ‘policing the perimeter’ staff are not designated to specific sectors.

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
12th Nov 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of company formation agents that should be registered for supervision but are not have been identified by HMRC since 8 May 2019.

HMRC supervises businesses in nine sectors under the Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs), including those Trust or Company Service Providers (TCSPs) not supervised by other bodies. HMRC does not publish information relating to targeting of supervisory visits in particular sectors. Such information could be used by criminals to aid their efforts to attempt to launder money or finance terrorism.

HM Treasury publishes aggregate details of HMRC’s supervision activity in its annual “Anti-money laundering and counter terrorist finance supervision report”.

Since 8 May 2019, HMRC has not identified any company formation agents who should be but are not registered with HMRC.

HMRC’s Anti Money Laundering Supervision team employs 16 full time equivalent staff to identify businesses that should be registered with HMRC under the MLRs but are not. These ‘policing the perimeter’ staff are not designated to specific sectors.

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
12th Nov 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many HMRC full time equivalent staff are tasked with identifying company formation agents that should be registered for supervision but are not.

HMRC supervises businesses in nine sectors under the Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs), including those Trust or Company Service Providers (TCSPs) not supervised by other bodies. HMRC does not publish information relating to targeting of supervisory visits in particular sectors. Such information could be used by criminals to aid their efforts to attempt to launder money or finance terrorism.

HM Treasury publishes aggregate details of HMRC’s supervision activity in its annual “Anti-money laundering and counter terrorist finance supervision report”.

Since 8 May 2019, HMRC has not identified any company formation agents who should be but are not registered with HMRC.

HMRC’s Anti Money Laundering Supervision team employs 16 full time equivalent staff to identify businesses that should be registered with HMRC under the MLRs but are not. These ‘policing the perimeter’ staff are not designated to specific sectors.

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
11th Nov 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which media outlets were given embargoed sight of his Statement on the Future of Financial Services, of 9 November 2020; and at what time it was released to them.

Checked against delivery versions of Chancellor statements are given to the media once they have been made in the House of Commons.
Kemi Badenoch
President of the Board of Trade
11th Nov 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which media were given embargoed sight of his statement of 5 November 2020; and at what time that statement was released to those media.

Checked against delivery versions of Chancellor statements are given to the media once they have been made in the House of Commons.
Kemi Badenoch
President of the Board of Trade
11th Nov 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which media were given embargoed sight of his statement of 22 October 2020; and at what time that statement was released to those media.

Checked against delivery versions of Chancellor statements are given to the media once they have been made in the House of Commons.
Kemi Badenoch
President of the Board of Trade
11th Nov 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which media outlets were given embargoed sight of his Statement on the economy of 24 September 2020; and at what time it was released to them.

Checked against delivery versions of Chancellor statements are given to the media once they have been made in the House of Commons.
Kemi Badenoch
President of the Board of Trade
4th Nov 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central, dated 4 August 2002 on the furlough claim lodged by Sub Club.

HM Treasury has received unprecedented amounts of correspondence since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, and apologises for the delay in responding to the hon. Member. The hon. Member’s correspondence is receiving attention and will be replied to as soon as possible.

28th Aug 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Question 884 of the evidence given to the Treasury Committee on 15 July 2020, what the median figure is for the income of self-employed people.

Information on the median income for the self-employed earning above £50,000 will be published in due course.

25th Aug 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with his OECD counterparts on an international digital services tax.

Developing a multilateral solution to the tax challenges arising from the digitisation of the economy is an important objective for the Government.

The UK continues to play a prominent and active role in OECD-led discussions, with a view to achieving that objective and ensuring a fairer and more sustainable corporation tax system in the future.

21st Jul 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will include (a) period pants and (b) other reusable menstrual products within the VAT reduction covering menstrual products.

At Spring Budget on 11 March 2020, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that a zero rate of VAT will apply to women’s sanitary products from 1 January 2021, at the end of the transition period. This will apply to those products which are currently subject to the reduced rate of 5%, for example, tampons and pads, and to reusable menstrual products, such as keepers.

10th Jul 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2020 to Question 69593 on Members: Correspondence, when he plans to provide a substantive response to the matters raised in the letter from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central of 6 May 2020 in relation to the covid-19 outbreak on food and drink wholesalers.

The Treasury responded to the Member’s letter on 21 June. The reply outlined the support available to food and drink wholesalers. However, given recent announcements which have enabled the reopening of the hospitality sector, I have asked officials to review your letter of 6 May and provide another updated reply shortly.

Kemi Badenoch
President of the Board of Trade
6th Jul 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to reply to the letter dated 6 May 2020 from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central on the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on food and drink wholesalers.

The Treasury responded to the Member’s letter on 21 June.

Kemi Badenoch
President of the Board of Trade
11th Jun 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral contribution of the Prime Minister of 10 June 2020, Official Report column 285, what estimate he has made of the Barnett consequentials arising from the additional £63 million of funding for local welfare assistance.

The £63 million of local welfare assistance in England announced by the Prime Minister on 10 June 2020 is expected to be funded from existing UK Government departmental budgets. However, any new funding will be subject to the Barnett formula in the usual way.

We have so far announced £7.4 billion of additional funding to the devolved administrations to support people, business and public services in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This means £3.8 billion for the Scottish Government, £2.3 billion for the Welsh Government and £1.3 billion for the Northern Ireland Executive.

Steve Barclay
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
13th May 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many businesses in Glasgow Central constituency have accessed the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

Applications for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) opened on Monday 20 April. By close on 11 May, 935,000 employers had submitted claims to HMRC, representing 7.5m furloughed employments and £10.1bn.

This is a new scheme and HMRC are currently working through the analysis they will be able to provide based on the data available. HMRC will make the timescales for publication and the types of data available in due course.

13th May 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many companies have accessed the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, by constituency.

Applications for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) opened on Monday 20 April. By close on 11 May, 935,000 employers had submitted claims to HMRC, representing 7.5m furloughed employments and £10.1bn.

This is a new scheme and HMRC are currently working through the analysis they will be able to provide based on the data available. HMRC will make the timescales for publication and the types of data available in due course.

20th Mar 2020
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will extend the business rates relief scheme to English Language Teaching centres for the duration of the covid-19 outbreak.

The Government has set out a package of measures to support businesses through this period of disruption caused by COVID-19, including those businesses not eligible for the small business rate relief or the relief for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses.

This support for business includes the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan scheme for small and medium-sized businesses, a statutory sick pay relief package, the HMRC Time To Pay Scheme, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help firms continue to keep people in employment, and a new lending facility from the Bank of England for larger firms.

These measures provide a comprehensive, coordinated and coherent response to what is a serious and evolving economic situation. As the wider economic picture becomes clearer, the Government will do whatever it takes to get the nation through the impacts of COVID-19 and the Government stands ready to announce further action wherever necessary.

29th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many allowed (a) entry clearance and (b) in-country appeal decisions are awaiting implementation as of 29 November 2023.

The requested information cannot be accurately extracted from our internal systems. To provide this information would require a manual trawl of successful appeals and to do so would incur disproportionate cost.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
27th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his oral contribution in response to the question from the hon. Member for Glasgow North of 27 November 2022, Official Report, what the evidential basis is for stating that allowing asylum seekers the right to work would increase the number travelling to the UK.

A wide body of evidence points towards key pull factors to the UK including language, diaspora, presence of friends and family, economic opportunity, and availability of education. Any effects exerted by asylum policies and welfare systems on individual decision making around ultimate country of destination are much less well understood and difficult to isolate. That is why we have no plans to work provisions and are trebling the fines for illegal working.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
15th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the public purse was of establishing the UK and Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership.

The UK has provided Rwanda with an initial investment of £120m into its economic development and growth as part of the Economic Transformation and Integration Fund (ETIF). Investment has been focused in areas such as education, healthcare, agriculture, infrastructure, and job creation. A separate advance payment of £20m was also paid last year to support initial set up costs for the relocation of individuals.

Funding will also be provided to support the delivery of asylum operations, accommodation, and integration in Rwanda. Costs and payments will depend on the number of individuals relocated, the timing of when this happens, and the outcomes of individual cases. Actual spend will be reported as part of the annual Home Office Reports and Accounts in the usual way. We will not enter into speculation as to what the final costs of the partnership may be nor provide a running commentary.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
15th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much his Department spent on R (on the application of AAA (Syria) and others) v Secretary of State for the Home Department and related cases.

The information requested on legal costs has been released through the Home Affairs Select Committee. Please find the information requested at this link: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/40398/documents/197156/default/

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
13th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of civil servants in his Department who are on temporary contracts are women.

The proportion of female Civil Servants in the Home Office who are on temporary contracts is 50%.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
7th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied asylum seeking children that have gone missing from hotels are unaccounted for as of 7 November 2023.

UASC hotels are temporary accommodation that provide safeguarding for a child until they are ready to be transferred through the National Transfer Scheme (NTS) from an entry local authority to another local authority in the UK for ongoing care and support.

The Home Office has put in place further funding throughout 2023-24 of £6,000 for every unaccompanied child moved from a UASC hotel to a local authority within five working days to encourage quicker transfers into local authority care.

We take the safety of those in our care seriously. We have robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all young people in emergency interim hotels are safe and supported as we seek urgent placements with a local authority.

The data requested cannot be provided as it comes from live operational databases that have not been quality assured.

The most recent published data can be found at Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
7th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether all Afghan people who have been accepted for transfer to the UK will fly in on flights arranged by the Government.

Resettlement of eligible Afghans remains a top priority for this government. As of June 2023, around 24,600 vulnerable people affected by the events in Afghanistan have been brought to safety.

The UK government and our partners will arrange and fund travel for those accepted under our Afghan schemes as part of the resettlement and relocation process. Depending on the individual circumstances, this may be via charter or commercial flights.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
17th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2023 to Question 200463 on Refugees: Afghanistan, if she will take steps to establish the number of Afghan people based in Pakistan awaiting applications to be processed by the Visa Application Centre.

The number of Afghans awaiting applications to be processed at Visa Application Centre is internal management information and is not for public release at this time.

Cross government work continues at pace to provide resettlement to those located in third countries.

Data on Afghanistan resettlement is released quarterly and the latest release is available to view at: Afghan Resettlement Programme: operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
13th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration has not been reappointed.

The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) is a statutory public appointment. These appointments are made by Ministers in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments, which states “there is no automatic presumption of reappointment; each case should be considered on its own merits”.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
19th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when will appoint the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner.

The role of the Anti-Slavery Commissioner (IASC) as set out in the 2015 Modern Slavery Act is to encourage good practice in the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of slavery and human trafficking offences and the identification of victims.

The Home Secretary recognises the importance of the IASC and had launched a new open competition to recruit for this role on the 23 February 2023, the process for which is now at an advanced stage.

Sarah Dines
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
19th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she (a) last met and (b) plans to meet the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration.

The last meeting between the Home Secretary and the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) was on 13 June 2023.

The Home Secretary will seek to schedule a further meeting with the ICIBI in due course.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
19th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of Afghans people based in Pakistan awaiting applications to be processed by the Visa Application Centre.

The Ministry of Defence first consider all applications under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP). Afghan citizens and their family members assessed as eligible for relocation will then be referred to the Home Office for permission to enter the UK.

As of June 2023, we have relocated over c.12,200 people under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy Scheme (ARAP) initiative, while over 11,500 people have been granted settled status, since the scheme launched in April 2021.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
19th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take to respond to the final report of the Brook House Inquiry.

The Government will carefully consider the findings of the Brook House Inquiry in its detailed report, including the recommendations in relation to the management of the immigration detention estate and the welfare of detained individuals.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
13th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Paragraph E-ECP.3.3 of Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules, if she will bring forward proposals to ensure that people receiving Adult Disability Payments benefit from the same provisions as those receiving Personal Independence Payments.

We are aware that the Scottish Government have made changes to the benefits system in Scotland and certain benefits previously paid by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have been amended and are now paid by Social Security Scotland, including Adult Disability payments. We keep the Immigration Rules under constant review and these changes will form part of that ongoing review process.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
13th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Scotland at Scotland Questions, Official Report on 13 September 2023, whether it is her policy not to intervene should a pilot supervised drug consumption facility go ahead in Scotland.

I refer the Hon Lady to my comments earlier today in the Chamber.

We look forward to seeing details including proposals for the individual consideration of cases and links to treatment which may be relevant.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
5th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unexplained wealth orders have been used since the scheme was revised.

Since the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act came into effect on 15 March 2022 the two applications for UWOs have been applied for in the High Court.

Tom Tugendhat
Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
20th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much notice people were given of their transfer to MDP Wethersfield.

The first group of asylum seekers is now at Wethersfield.

We will be using a phased approach, gradually increasing the number of asylum seekers accommodated at the site over time and with the site under constant review. The site will be able to accommodate 1700 individuals when fully operational.

The maximum length of stay at the site is currently between six and nine months, except where the Secretary of State is unable to find suitable onward dispersed accommodation despite reasonable efforts to do so.

Furthermore, we have been applying the lessons learned at Napier Barracks to ensure that the Wethersfield site runs efficiently. We appreciate that there are fewer people at Napier but the principles of running a large accommodation site remain the same.

In addition to the checks against policing and immigration databases, at Manston, those individuals identified for the site will be subject to a suitability assessment. Guidance on the suitability criteria used can be found at Allocation of accommodation. Each person’s suitability will be assessed at regular intervals and if they are no longer suitable for any reason, they will be moved to alternative accommodation.

All asylum seekers in the UK may contact Migrant Help 24 hours a day, 365 days a year if they need help, advice, or guidance, that includes raising issues relating to safeguarding.

The asylum seekers selected to move to Wethersfield were new arrivals. These asylum seekers had been placed in short stay accommodation pending completion of the asylum registration process and an onward move to contingency accommodation to be arranged. The applicants selected were notified of the transport arrangements by the accommodation provider, and around 24 hours notice was given.

An Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) for Wethersfield has been completed and is currently under a routine review. The EqIA will be monitored and reviewed quarterly.

All the asylum seekers staying at the Wethersfield site will receive appropriate access to legal advice provisions, and legal representatives will be made available through both in-person visits and online videoconferencing. The site will facilitate pre-booked access for legal representatives to visit, including out of hours visits where required, with provision of dedicated space for in-person conversations with asylum seekers, and appropriate videoconferencing technology will also be provided on-site to facilitate virtual meetings. Migrant Help will signpost all asylum seekers to the relevant Legal Providers. Due to the virtual provisions for legal access on site, access to sufficient legal representation for Wethersfield will not be constrained by the capacity nor expertise of legal providers within the local area alone.

Small boat crossings are dangerous, unnecessary and put lives at risk. There have been appalling and preventable tragedies in the English Channel which must stop. We aim to deter illegal entry to the UK, break the business model of people smugglers and protect the lives of those they endanger. Migrants are intercepted by Border Force and brought to facilities in Dover to begin processing their asylum claims.

Full screening of people’s identity, security checks, initial asylum screening and processing is undertaken at Western Jet Foil in Dover and Manston, Kent. Migrants are then moved to suitable accommodation locations as quickly as possible.

In terms of healthcare, extensive work has been undertaken with local and national health partners, including the Multi Agency Forum (MAF) to work through the specifics of healthcare provision being provided on the site. The health subgroup of the MAF was set up specifically to look at how we minimise the impact on local health services and facilitate primary health care on site which has now been established. Financial support is being provided to NHS Mid and South Essex, and the onsite primary health care service will register residents so that is no need to register with local GP practices.

Upon arrival in the UK, all individuals are offered a health check at Western Jet Foil in Dover and Manston, Kent. If necessary, healthcare practitioners at Manston administer medical care. On arrival at Manston, individuals are offered a diphtheria vaccination in line with current UKHSA recommendations in response to the outbreak in this population.

The Home Office has procedures in place to support individuals with potential symptoms of an infectious disease, including isolation spaces within Wethersfield and a designated isolation hotel. The Home Office receives advice and guidance where needed from the local UKHSA Health Protection Team on management of individuals and contacts with a suspected infectious disease. Anyone with symptoms of an infectious disease is made to isolate and can only enter the asylum system once assessed by doctor and deemed to be non-infectious.

The onsite provider has prior experience in meeting the health needs of asylum seekers.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
20th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether there is an (a) minimum and (b) maximum length of time that people will be accommodated at MDP Wethersfield.

The first group of asylum seekers is now at Wethersfield.

We will be using a phased approach, gradually increasing the number of asylum seekers accommodated at the site over time and with the site under constant review. The site will be able to accommodate 1700 individuals when fully operational.

The maximum length of stay at the site is currently between six and nine months, except where the Secretary of State is unable to find suitable onward dispersed accommodation despite reasonable efforts to do so.

Furthermore, we have been applying the lessons learned at Napier Barracks to ensure that the Wethersfield site runs efficiently. We appreciate that there are fewer people at Napier but the principles of running a large accommodation site remain the same.

In addition to the checks against policing and immigration databases, at Manston, those individuals identified for the site will be subject to a suitability assessment. Guidance on the suitability criteria used can be found at Allocation of accommodation. Each person’s suitability will be assessed at regular intervals and if they are no longer suitable for any reason, they will be moved to alternative accommodation.

All asylum seekers in the UK may contact Migrant Help 24 hours a day, 365 days a year if they need help, advice, or guidance, that includes raising issues relating to safeguarding.

The asylum seekers selected to move to Wethersfield were new arrivals. These asylum seekers had been placed in short stay accommodation pending completion of the asylum registration process and an onward move to contingency accommodation to be arranged. The applicants selected were notified of the transport arrangements by the accommodation provider, and around 24 hours notice was given.

An Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) for Wethersfield has been completed and is currently under a routine review. The EqIA will be monitored and reviewed quarterly.

All the asylum seekers staying at the Wethersfield site will receive appropriate access to legal advice provisions, and legal representatives will be made available through both in-person visits and online videoconferencing. The site will facilitate pre-booked access for legal representatives to visit, including out of hours visits where required, with provision of dedicated space for in-person conversations with asylum seekers, and appropriate videoconferencing technology will also be provided on-site to facilitate virtual meetings. Migrant Help will signpost all asylum seekers to the relevant Legal Providers. Due to the virtual provisions for legal access on site, access to sufficient legal representation for Wethersfield will not be constrained by the capacity nor expertise of legal providers within the local area alone.

Small boat crossings are dangerous, unnecessary and put lives at risk. There have been appalling and preventable tragedies in the English Channel which must stop. We aim to deter illegal entry to the UK, break the business model of people smugglers and protect the lives of those they endanger. Migrants are intercepted by Border Force and brought to facilities in Dover to begin processing their asylum claims.

Full screening of people’s identity, security checks, initial asylum screening and processing is undertaken at Western Jet Foil in Dover and Manston, Kent. Migrants are then moved to suitable accommodation locations as quickly as possible.

In terms of healthcare, extensive work has been undertaken with local and national health partners, including the Multi Agency Forum (MAF) to work through the specifics of healthcare provision being provided on the site. The health subgroup of the MAF was set up specifically to look at how we minimise the impact on local health services and facilitate primary health care on site which has now been established. Financial support is being provided to NHS Mid and South Essex, and the onsite primary health care service will register residents so that is no need to register with local GP practices.

Upon arrival in the UK, all individuals are offered a health check at Western Jet Foil in Dover and Manston, Kent. If necessary, healthcare practitioners at Manston administer medical care. On arrival at Manston, individuals are offered a diphtheria vaccination in line with current UKHSA recommendations in response to the outbreak in this population.

The Home Office has procedures in place to support individuals with potential symptoms of an infectious disease, including isolation spaces within Wethersfield and a designated isolation hotel. The Home Office receives advice and guidance where needed from the local UKHSA Health Protection Team on management of individuals and contacts with a suspected infectious disease. Anyone with symptoms of an infectious disease is made to isolate and can only enter the asylum system once assessed by doctor and deemed to be non-infectious.

The onsite provider has prior experience in meeting the health needs of asylum seekers.

If you would like to put forward specific proposals, please do contact the Home Office at: rasiengagementhubregionalconsultation@homeoffice.gov.uk(opens in a new tab)(opens in a new tab) and officials will happily discuss this in greater detail with you.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
20th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, where people transferred to MDP Wethersfield were previously accommodated.

The first group of asylum seekers is now at Wethersfield.

We will be using a phased approach, gradually increasing the number of asylum seekers accommodated at the site over time and with the site under constant review. The site will be able to accommodate 1700 individuals when fully operational.

The maximum length of stay at the site is currently between six and nine months, except where the Secretary of State is unable to find suitable onward dispersed accommodation despite reasonable efforts to do so.

Furthermore, we have been applying the lessons learned at Napier Barracks to ensure that the Wethersfield site runs efficiently. We appreciate that there are fewer people at Napier but the principles of running a large accommodation site remain the same.

In addition to the checks against policing and immigration databases, at Manston, those individuals identified for the site will be subject to a suitability assessment. Guidance on the suitability criteria used can be found at Allocation of accommodation. Each person’s suitability will be assessed at regular intervals and if they are no longer suitable for any reason, they will be moved to alternative accommodation.

All asylum seekers in the UK may contact Migrant Help 24 hours a day, 365 days a year if they need help, advice, or guidance, that includes raising issues relating to safeguarding.

The asylum seekers selected to move to Wethersfield were new arrivals. These asylum seekers had been placed in short stay accommodation pending completion of the asylum registration process and an onward move to contingency accommodation to be arranged. The applicants selected were notified of the transport arrangements by the accommodation provider, and around 24 hours notice was given.

An Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) for Wethersfield has been completed and is currently under a routine review. The EqIA will be monitored and reviewed quarterly.

All the asylum seekers staying at the Wethersfield site will receive appropriate access to legal advice provisions, and legal representatives will be made available through both in-person visits and online videoconferencing. The site will facilitate pre-booked access for legal representatives to visit, including out of hours visits where required, with provision of dedicated space for in-person conversations with asylum seekers, and appropriate videoconferencing technology will also be provided on-site to facilitate virtual meetings. Migrant Help will signpost all asylum seekers to the relevant Legal Providers. Due to the virtual provisions for legal access on site, access to sufficient legal representation for Wethersfield will not be constrained by the capacity nor expertise of legal providers within the local area alone.

Small boat crossings are dangerous, unnecessary and put lives at risk. There have been appalling and preventable tragedies in the English Channel which must stop. We aim to deter illegal entry to the UK, break the business model of people smugglers and protect the lives of those they endanger. Migrants are intercepted by Border Force and brought to facilities in Dover to begin processing their asylum claims.

Full screening of people’s identity, security checks, initial asylum screening and processing is undertaken at Western Jet Foil in Dover and Manston, Kent. Migrants are then moved to suitable accommodation locations as quickly as possible.

In terms of healthcare, extensive work has been undertaken with local and national health partners, including the Multi Agency Forum (MAF) to work through the specifics of healthcare provision being provided on the site. The health subgroup of the MAF was set up specifically to look at how we minimise the impact on local health services and facilitate primary health care on site which has now been established. Financial support is being provided to NHS Mid and South Essex, and the onsite primary health care service will register residents so that is no need to register with local GP practices.

Upon arrival in the UK, all individuals are offered a health check at Western Jet Foil in Dover and Manston, Kent. If necessary, healthcare practitioners at Manston administer medical care. On arrival at Manston, individuals are offered a diphtheria vaccination in line with current UKHSA recommendations in response to the outbreak in this population.

The Home Office has procedures in place to support individuals with potential symptoms of an infectious disease, including isolation spaces within Wethersfield and a designated isolation hotel. The Home Office receives advice and guidance where needed from the local UKHSA Health Protection Team on management of individuals and contacts with a suspected infectious disease. Anyone with symptoms of an infectious disease is made to isolate and can only enter the asylum system once assessed by doctor and deemed to be non-infectious.

The onsite provider has prior experience in meeting the health needs of asylum seekers.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
20th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been transferred to MDP Weathersfield site since 12 July 2023; and how many people are accommodated at the site.

The first group of asylum seekers is now at Wethersfield.

We will be using a phased approach, gradually increasing the number of asylum seekers accommodated at the site over time and with the site under constant review. The site will be able to accommodate 1700 individuals when fully operational.

The maximum length of stay at the site is currently between six and nine months, except where the Secretary of State is unable to find suitable onward dispersed accommodation despite reasonable efforts to do so.

Furthermore, we have been applying the lessons learned at Napier Barracks to ensure that the Wethersfield site runs efficiently. We appreciate that there are fewer people at Napier but the principles of running a large accommodation site remain the same.

In addition to the checks against policing and immigration databases, at Manston, those individuals identified for the site will be subject to a suitability assessment. Guidance on the suitability criteria used can be found at Allocation of accommodation. Each person’s suitability will be assessed at regular intervals and if they are no longer suitable for any reason, they will be moved to alternative accommodation.

All asylum seekers in the UK may contact Migrant Help 24 hours a day, 365 days a year if they need help, advice, or guidance, that includes raising issues relating to safeguarding.

The asylum seekers selected to move to Wethersfield were new arrivals. These asylum seekers had been placed in short stay accommodation pending completion of the asylum registration process and an onward move to contingency accommodation to be arranged. The applicants selected were notified of the transport arrangements by the accommodation provider, and around 24 hours notice was given.

An Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) for Wethersfield has been completed and is currently under a routine review. The EqIA will be monitored and reviewed quarterly.

All the asylum seekers staying at the Wethersfield site will receive appropriate access to legal advice provisions, and legal representatives will be made available through both in-person visits and online videoconferencing. The site will facilitate pre-booked access for legal representatives to visit, including out of hours visits where required, with provision of dedicated space for in-person conversations with asylum seekers, and appropriate videoconferencing technology will also be provided on-site to facilitate virtual meetings. Migrant Help will signpost all asylum seekers to the relevant Legal Providers. Due to the virtual provisions for legal access on site, access to sufficient legal representation for Wethersfield will not be constrained by the capacity nor expertise of legal providers within the local area alone.

Small boat crossings are dangerous, unnecessary and put lives at risk. There have been appalling and preventable tragedies in the English Channel which must stop. We aim to deter illegal entry to the UK, break the business model of people smugglers and protect the lives of those they endanger. Migrants are intercepted by Border Force and brought to facilities in Dover to begin processing their asylum claims.

Full screening of people’s identity, security checks, initial asylum screening and processing is undertaken at Western Jet Foil in Dover and Manston, Kent. Migrants are then moved to suitable accommodation locations as quickly as possible.

In terms of healthcare, extensive work has been undertaken with local and national health partners, including the Multi Agency Forum (MAF) to work through the specifics of healthcare provision being provided on the site. The health subgroup of the MAF was set up specifically to look at how we minimise the impact on local health services and facilitate primary health care on site which has now been established. Financial support is being provided to NHS Mid and South Essex, and the onsite primary health care service will register residents so that is no need to register with local GP practices.

Upon arrival in the UK, all individuals are offered a health check at Western Jet Foil in Dover and Manston, Kent. If necessary, healthcare practitioners at Manston administer medical care. On arrival at Manston, individuals are offered a diphtheria vaccination in line with current UKHSA recommendations in response to the outbreak in this population.

The Home Office has procedures in place to support individuals with potential symptoms of an infectious disease, including isolation spaces within Wethersfield and a designated isolation hotel. The Home Office receives advice and guidance where needed from the local UKHSA Health Protection Team on management of individuals and contacts with a suspected infectious disease. Anyone with symptoms of an infectious disease is made to isolate and can only enter the asylum system once assessed by doctor and deemed to be non-infectious.

The onsite provider has prior experience in meeting the health needs of asylum seekers.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
20th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to monitor the suitability of people for accommodation at the MDP Wethersfield site.

The first group of asylum seekers is now at Wethersfield.

We will be using a phased approach, gradually increasing the number of asylum seekers accommodated at the site over time and with the site under constant review. The site will be able to accommodate 1700 individuals when fully operational.

The maximum length of stay at the site is currently between six and nine months, except where the Secretary of State is unable to find suitable onward dispersed accommodation despite reasonable efforts to do so.

Furthermore, we have been applying the lessons learned at Napier Barracks to ensure that the Wethersfield site runs efficiently. We appreciate that there are fewer people at Napier but the principles of running a large accommodation site remain the same.

In addition to the checks against policing and immigration databases, at Manston, those individuals identified for the site will be subject to a suitability assessment. Guidance on the suitability criteria used can be found at Allocation of accommodation. Each person’s suitability will be assessed at regular intervals and if they are no longer suitable for any reason, they will be moved to alternative accommodation.

All asylum seekers in the UK may contact Migrant Help 24 hours a day, 365 days a year if they need help, advice, or guidance, that includes raising issues relating to safeguarding.

The asylum seekers selected to move to Wethersfield were new arrivals. These asylum seekers had been placed in short stay accommodation pending completion of the asylum registration process and an onward move to contingency accommodation to be arranged. The applicants selected were notified of the transport arrangements by the accommodation provider, and around 24 hours notice was given.

An Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) for Wethersfield has been completed and is currently under a routine review. The EqIA will be monitored and reviewed quarterly.

All the asylum seekers staying at the Wethersfield site will receive appropriate access to legal advice provisions, and legal representatives will be made available through both in-person visits and online videoconferencing. The site will facilitate pre-booked access for legal representatives to visit, including out of hours visits where required, with provision of dedicated space for in-person conversations with asylum seekers, and appropriate videoconferencing technology will also be provided on-site to facilitate virtual meetings. Migrant Help will signpost all asylum seekers to the relevant Legal Providers. Due to the virtual provisions for legal access on site, access to sufficient legal representation for Wethersfield will not be constrained by the capacity nor expertise of legal providers within the local area alone.

Small boat crossings are dangerous, unnecessary and put lives at risk. There have been appalling and preventable tragedies in the English Channel which must stop. We aim to deter illegal entry to the UK, break the business model of people smugglers and protect the lives of those they endanger. Migrants are intercepted by Border Force and brought to facilities in Dover to begin processing their asylum claims.

Full screening of people’s identity, security checks, initial asylum screening and processing is undertaken at Western Jet Foil in Dover and Manston, Kent. Migrants are then moved to suitable accommodation locations as quickly as possible.

In terms of healthcare, extensive work has been undertaken with local and national health partners, including the Multi Agency Forum (MAF) to work through the specifics of healthcare provision being provided on the site. The health subgroup of the MAF was set up specifically to look at how we minimise the impact on local health services and facilitate primary health care on site which has now been established. Financial support is being provided to NHS Mid and South Essex, and the onsite primary health care service will register residents so that is no need to register with local GP practices.

Upon arrival in the UK, all individuals are offered a health check at Western Jet Foil in Dover and Manston, Kent. If necessary, healthcare practitioners at Manston administer medical care. On arrival at Manston, individuals are offered a diphtheria vaccination in line with current UKHSA recommendations in response to the outbreak in this population.

The Home Office has procedures in place to support individuals with potential symptoms of an infectious disease, including isolation spaces within Wethersfield and a designated isolation hotel. The Home Office receives advice and guidance where needed from the local UKHSA Health Protection Team on management of individuals and contacts with a suspected infectious disease. Anyone with symptoms of an infectious disease is made to isolate and can only enter the asylum system once assessed by doctor and deemed to be non-infectious.

The onsite provider has prior experience in meeting the health needs of asylum seekers.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
20th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria and process will be used to determine whether a person seeking asylum is suitable to be accommodated at MDP Wethersfield; whether the criteria and process will be the same as those in her Department's Allocation of Accommodation policy for Napier Barracks; and what changes have been made to the criteria and process for Napier Barracks since the High Court found that that they were flawed and unlawful in June 2021.

The first group of asylum seekers is now at Wethersfield.

We will be using a phased approach, gradually increasing the number of asylum seekers accommodated at the site over time and with the site under constant review. The site will be able to accommodate 1700 individuals when fully operational.

The maximum length of stay at the site is currently between six and nine months, except where the Secretary of State is unable to find suitable onward dispersed accommodation despite reasonable efforts to do so.

Furthermore, we have been applying the lessons learned at Napier Barracks to ensure that the Wethersfield site runs efficiently. We appreciate that there are fewer people at Napier but the principles of running a large accommodation site remain the same.

In addition to the checks against policing and immigration databases, at Manston, those individuals identified for the site will be subject to a suitability assessment. Guidance on the suitability criteria used can be found at Allocation of accommodation. Each person’s suitability will be assessed at regular intervals and if they are no longer suitable for any reason, they will be moved to alternative accommodation.

All asylum seekers in the UK may contact Migrant Help 24 hours a day, 365 days a year if they need help, advice, or guidance, that includes raising issues relating to safeguarding.

The asylum seekers selected to move to Wethersfield were new arrivals. These asylum seekers had been placed in short stay accommodation pending completion of the asylum registration process and an onward move to contingency accommodation to be arranged. The applicants selected were notified of the transport arrangements by the accommodation provider, and around 24 hours notice was given.

An Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) for Wethersfield has been completed and is currently under a routine review. The EqIA will be monitored and reviewed quarterly.

All the asylum seekers staying at the Wethersfield site will receive appropriate access to legal advice provisions, and legal representatives will be made available through both in-person visits and online videoconferencing. The site will facilitate pre-booked access for legal representatives to visit, including out of hours visits where required, with provision of dedicated space for in-person conversations with asylum seekers, and appropriate videoconferencing technology will also be provided on-site to facilitate virtual meetings. Migrant Help will signpost all asylum seekers to the relevant Legal Providers. Due to the virtual provisions for legal access on site, access to sufficient legal representation for Wethersfield will not be constrained by the capacity nor expertise of legal providers within the local area alone.

Small boat crossings are dangerous, unnecessary and put lives at risk. There have been appalling and preventable tragedies in the English Channel which must stop. We aim to deter illegal entry to the UK, break the business model of people smugglers and protect the lives of those they endanger. Migrants are intercepted by Border Force and brought to facilities in Dover to begin processing their asylum claims.

Full screening of people’s identity, security checks, initial asylum screening and processing is undertaken at Western Jet Foil in Dover and Manston, Kent. Migrants are then moved to suitable accommodation locations as quickly as possible.

In terms of healthcare, extensive work has been undertaken with local and national health partners, including the Multi Agency Forum (MAF) to work through the specifics of healthcare provision being provided on the site. The health subgroup of the MAF was set up specifically to look at how we minimise the impact on local health services and facilitate primary health care on site which has now been established. Financial support is being provided to NHS Mid and South Essex, and the onsite primary health care service will register residents so that is no need to register with local GP practices.

Upon arrival in the UK, all individuals are offered a health check at Western Jet Foil in Dover and Manston, Kent. If necessary, healthcare practitioners at Manston administer medical care. On arrival at Manston, individuals are offered a diphtheria vaccination in line with current UKHSA recommendations in response to the outbreak in this population.

The Home Office has procedures in place to support individuals with potential symptoms of an infectious disease, including isolation spaces within Wethersfield and a designated isolation hotel. The Home Office receives advice and guidance where needed from the local UKHSA Health Protection Team on management of individuals and contacts with a suspected infectious disease. Anyone with symptoms of an infectious disease is made to isolate and can only enter the asylum system once assessed by doctor and deemed to be non-infectious.

The onsite provider has prior experience in meeting the health needs of asylum seekers.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
20th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether a legal advice provision is available at the new asylum accommodation centre at MDP Wethersfield; and whether she has made an (a) estimate of the number of legal firms in the local area and (b) assessment of whether local legal firms have the (i) capacity and (ii) necessary expertise to take on clients from that centre.

The first group of asylum seekers is now at Wethersfield.

We will be using a phased approach, gradually increasing the number of asylum seekers accommodated at the site over time and with the site under constant review. The site will be able to accommodate 1700 individuals when fully operational.

The maximum length of stay at the site is currently between six and nine months, except where the Secretary of State is unable to find suitable onward dispersed accommodation despite reasonable efforts to do so.

Furthermore, we have been applying the lessons learned at Napier Barracks to ensure that the Wethersfield site runs efficiently. We appreciate that there are fewer people at Napier but the principles of running a large accommodation site remain the same.

In addition to the checks against policing and immigration databases, at Manston, those individuals identified for the site will be subject to a suitability assessment. Guidance on the suitability criteria used can be found at Allocation of accommodation. Each person’s suitability will be assessed at regular intervals and if they are no longer suitable for any reason, they will be moved to alternative accommodation.

All asylum seekers in the UK may contact Migrant Help 24 hours a day, 365 days a year if they need help, advice, or guidance, that includes raising issues relating to safeguarding.

The asylum seekers selected to move to Wethersfield were new arrivals. These asylum seekers had been placed in short stay accommodation pending completion of the asylum registration process and an onward move to contingency accommodation to be arranged. The applicants selected were notified of the transport arrangements by the accommodation provider, and around 24 hours notice was given.

An Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) for Wethersfield has been completed and is currently under a routine review. The EqIA will be monitored and reviewed quarterly.

All the asylum seekers staying at the Wethersfield site will receive appropriate access to legal advice provisions, and legal representatives will be made available through both in-person visits and online videoconferencing. The site will facilitate pre-booked access for legal representatives to visit, including out of hours visits where required, with provision of dedicated space for in-person conversations with asylum seekers, and appropriate videoconferencing technology will also be provided on-site to facilitate virtual meetings. Migrant Help will signpost all asylum seekers to the relevant Legal Providers. Due to the virtual provisions for legal access on site, access to sufficient legal representation for Wethersfield will not be constrained by the capacity nor expertise of legal providers within the local area alone.

Small boat crossings are dangerous, unnecessary and put lives at risk. There have been appalling and preventable tragedies in the English Channel which must stop. We aim to deter illegal entry to the UK, break the business model of people smugglers and protect the lives of those they endanger. Migrants are intercepted by Border Force and brought to facilities in Dover to begin processing their asylum claims.

Full screening of people’s identity, security checks, initial asylum screening and processing is undertaken at Western Jet Foil in Dover and Manston, Kent. Migrants are then moved to suitable accommodation locations as quickly as possible.

In terms of healthcare, extensive work has been undertaken with local and national health partners, including the Multi Agency Forum (MAF) to work through the specifics of healthcare provision being provided on the site. The health subgroup of the MAF was set up specifically to look at how we minimise the impact on local health services and facilitate primary health care on site which has now been established. Financial support is being provided to NHS Mid and South Essex, and the onsite primary health care service will register residents so that is no need to register with local GP practices.

Upon arrival in the UK, all individuals are offered a health check at Western Jet Foil in Dover and Manston, Kent. If necessary, healthcare practitioners at Manston administer medical care. On arrival at Manston, individuals are offered a diphtheria vaccination in line with current UKHSA recommendations in response to the outbreak in this population.

The Home Office has procedures in place to support individuals with potential symptoms of an infectious disease, including isolation spaces within Wethersfield and a designated isolation hotel. The Home Office receives advice and guidance where needed from the local UKHSA Health Protection Team on management of individuals and contacts with a suspected infectious disease. Anyone with symptoms of an infectious disease is made to isolate and can only enter the asylum system once assessed by doctor and deemed to be non-infectious.

The onsite provider has prior experience in meeting the health needs of asylum seekers.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
20th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has carried out an Equality Impact Assessment for the new asylum accommodation centre at MDP Wethersfield.

The first group of asylum seekers is now at Wethersfield.

We will be using a phased approach, gradually increasing the number of asylum seekers accommodated at the site over time and with the site under constant review. The site will be able to accommodate 1700 individuals when fully operational.

The maximum length of stay at the site is currently between six and nine months, except where the Secretary of State is unable to find suitable onward dispersed accommodation despite reasonable efforts to do so.

Furthermore, we have been applying the lessons learned at Napier Barracks to ensure that the Wethersfield site runs efficiently. We appreciate that there are fewer people at Napier but the principles of running a large accommodation site remain the same.

In addition to the checks against policing and immigration databases, at Manston, those individuals identified for the site will be subject to a suitability assessment. Guidance on the suitability criteria used can be found at Allocation of accommodation. Each person’s suitability will be assessed at regular intervals and if they are no longer suitable for any reason, they will be moved to alternative accommodation.

All asylum seekers in the UK may contact Migrant Help 24 hours a day, 365 days a year if they need help, advice, or guidance, that includes raising issues relating to safeguarding.

The asylum seekers selected to move to Wethersfield were new arrivals. These asylum seekers had been placed in short stay accommodation pending completion of the asylum registration process and an onward move to contingency accommodation to be arranged. The applicants selected were notified of the transport arrangements by the accommodation provider, and around 24 hours notice was given.

An Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) for Wethersfield has been completed and is currently under a routine review. The EqIA will be monitored and reviewed quarterly.

All the asylum seekers staying at the Wethersfield site will receive appropriate access to legal advice provisions, and legal representatives will be made available through both in-person visits and online videoconferencing. The site will facilitate pre-booked access for legal representatives to visit, including out of hours visits where required, with provision of dedicated space for in-person conversations with asylum seekers, and appropriate videoconferencing technology will also be provided on-site to facilitate virtual meetings. Migrant Help will signpost all asylum seekers to the relevant Legal Providers. Due to the virtual provisions for legal access on site, access to sufficient legal representation for Wethersfield will not be constrained by the capacity nor expertise of legal providers within the local area alone.

Small boat crossings are dangerous, unnecessary and put lives at risk. There have been appalling and preventable tragedies in the English Channel which must stop. We aim to deter illegal entry to the UK, break the business model of people smugglers and protect the lives of those they endanger. Migrants are intercepted by Border Force and brought to facilities in Dover to begin processing their asylum claims.

Full screening of people’s identity, security checks, initial asylum screening and processing is undertaken at Western Jet Foil in Dover and Manston, Kent. Migrants are then moved to suitable accommodation locations as quickly as possible.

In terms of healthcare, extensive work has been undertaken with local and national health partners, including the Multi Agency Forum (MAF) to work through the specifics of healthcare provision being provided on the site. The health subgroup of the MAF was set up specifically to look at how we minimise the impact on local health services and facilitate primary health care on site which has now been established. Financial support is being provided to NHS Mid and South Essex, and the onsite primary health care service will register residents so that is no need to register with local GP practices.

Upon arrival in the UK, all individuals are offered a health check at Western Jet Foil in Dover and Manston, Kent. If necessary, healthcare practitioners at Manston administer medical care. On arrival at Manston, individuals are offered a diphtheria vaccination in line with current UKHSA recommendations in response to the outbreak in this population.

The Home Office has procedures in place to support individuals with potential symptoms of an infectious disease, including isolation spaces within Wethersfield and a designated isolation hotel. The Home Office receives advice and guidance where needed from the local UKHSA Health Protection Team on management of individuals and contacts with a suspected infectious disease. Anyone with symptoms of an infectious disease is made to isolate and can only enter the asylum system once assessed by doctor and deemed to be non-infectious.

The onsite provider has prior experience in meeting the health needs of asylum seekers.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
20th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the level of healthcare needs that residents at the proposed new asylum accommodation centre at MDP Wethersfield will have; what healthcare provision will be available on-site; whether residents will be registered with local GPs off-site; what estimate she has made of the number of GP practices in the local area; and what assessment she has made of the (a) capacity of those practices to take on new patients and (b) levels of experience in working with asylum seekers and refugees.

The first group of asylum seekers is now at Wethersfield.

We will be using a phased approach, gradually increasing the number of asylum seekers accommodated at the site over time and with the site under constant review. The site will be able to accommodate 1700 individuals when fully operational.

The maximum length of stay at the site is currently between six and nine months, except where the Secretary of State is unable to find suitable onward dispersed accommodation despite reasonable efforts to do so.

Furthermore, we have been applying the lessons learned at Napier Barracks to ensure that the Wethersfield site runs efficiently. We appreciate that there are fewer people at Napier but the principles of running a large accommodation site remain the same.

In addition to the checks against policing and immigration databases, at Manston, those individuals identified for the site will be subject to a suitability assessment. Guidance on the suitability criteria used can be found at Allocation of accommodation. Each person’s suitability will be assessed at regular intervals and if they are no longer suitable for any reason, they will be moved to alternative accommodation.

All asylum seekers in the UK may contact Migrant Help 24 hours a day, 365 days a year if they need help, advice, or guidance, that includes raising issues relating to safeguarding.

The asylum seekers selected to move to Wethersfield were new arrivals. These asylum seekers had been placed in short stay accommodation pending completion of the asylum registration process and an onward move to contingency accommodation to be arranged. The applicants selected were notified of the transport arrangements by the accommodation provider, and around 24 hours notice was given.

An Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) for Wethersfield has been completed and is currently under a routine review. The EqIA will be monitored and reviewed quarterly.

All the asylum seekers staying at the Wethersfield site will receive appropriate access to legal advice provisions, and legal representatives will be made available through both in-person visits and online videoconferencing. The site will facilitate pre-booked access for legal representatives to visit, including out of hours visits where required, with provision of dedicated space for in-person conversations with asylum seekers, and appropriate videoconferencing technology will also be provided on-site to facilitate virtual meetings. Migrant Help will signpost all asylum seekers to the relevant Legal Providers. Due to the virtual provisions for legal access on site, access to sufficient legal representation for Wethersfield will not be constrained by the capacity nor expertise of legal providers within the local area alone.

Small boat crossings are dangerous, unnecessary and put lives at risk. There have been appalling and preventable tragedies in the English Channel which must stop. We aim to deter illegal entry to the UK, break the business model of people smugglers and protect the lives of those they endanger. Migrants are intercepted by Border Force and brought to facilities in Dover to begin processing their asylum claims.

Full screening of people’s identity, security checks, initial asylum screening and processing is undertaken at Western Jet Foil in Dover and Manston, Kent. Migrants are then moved to suitable accommodation locations as quickly as possible.

In terms of healthcare, extensive work has been undertaken with local and national health partners, including the Multi Agency Forum (MAF) to work through the specifics of healthcare provision being provided on the site. The health subgroup of the MAF was set up specifically to look at how we minimise the impact on local health services and facilitate primary health care on site which has now been established. Financial support is being provided to NHS Mid and South Essex, and the onsite primary health care service will register residents so that is no need to register with local GP practices.

Upon arrival in the UK, all individuals are offered a health check at Western Jet Foil in Dover and Manston, Kent. If necessary, healthcare practitioners at Manston administer medical care. On arrival at Manston, individuals are offered a diphtheria vaccination in line with current UKHSA recommendations in response to the outbreak in this population.

The Home Office has procedures in place to support individuals with potential symptoms of an infectious disease, including isolation spaces within Wethersfield and a designated isolation hotel. The Home Office receives advice and guidance where needed from the local UKHSA Health Protection Team on management of individuals and contacts with a suspected infectious disease. Anyone with symptoms of an infectious disease is made to isolate and can only enter the asylum system once assessed by doctor and deemed to be non-infectious.

The onsite provider has prior experience in meeting the health needs of asylum seekers.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
20th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether people accommodated at Wethersfield were transferred from Manston Short-term Holding Facility.

The first group of asylum seekers is now at Wethersfield.

We will be using a phased approach, gradually increasing the number of asylum seekers accommodated at the site over time and with the site under constant review. The site will be able to accommodate 1700 individuals when fully operational.

The maximum length of stay at the site is currently between six and nine months, except where the Secretary of State is unable to find suitable onward dispersed accommodation despite reasonable efforts to do so.

Furthermore, we have been applying the lessons learned at Napier Barracks to ensure that the Wethersfield site runs efficiently. We appreciate that there are fewer people at Napier but the principles of running a large accommodation site remain the same.

In addition to the checks against policing and immigration databases, at Manston, those individuals identified for the site will be subject to a suitability assessment. Guidance on the suitability criteria used can be found at Allocation of accommodation. Each person’s suitability will be assessed at regular intervals and if they are no longer suitable for any reason, they will be moved to alternative accommodation.

All asylum seekers in the UK may contact Migrant Help 24 hours a day, 365 days a year if they need help, advice, or guidance, that includes raising issues relating to safeguarding.

The asylum seekers selected to move to Wethersfield were new arrivals. These asylum seekers had been placed in short stay accommodation pending completion of the asylum registration process and an onward move to contingency accommodation to be arranged. The applicants selected were notified of the transport arrangements by the accommodation provider, and around 24 hours notice was given.

An Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) for Wethersfield has been completed and is currently under a routine review. The EqIA will be monitored and reviewed quarterly.

All the asylum seekers staying at the Wethersfield site will receive appropriate access to legal advice provisions, and legal representatives will be made available through both in-person visits and online videoconferencing. The site will facilitate pre-booked access for legal representatives to visit, including out of hours visits where required, with provision of dedicated space for in-person conversations with asylum seekers, and appropriate videoconferencing technology will also be provided on-site to facilitate virtual meetings. Migrant Help will signpost all asylum seekers to the relevant Legal Providers. Due to the virtual provisions for legal access on site, access to sufficient legal representation for Wethersfield will not be constrained by the capacity nor expertise of legal providers within the local area alone.

Small boat crossings are dangerous, unnecessary and put lives at risk. There have been appalling and preventable tragedies in the English Channel which must stop. We aim to deter illegal entry to the UK, break the business model of people smugglers and protect the lives of those they endanger. Migrants are intercepted by Border Force and brought to facilities in Dover to begin processing their asylum claims.

Full screening of people’s identity, security checks, initial asylum screening and processing is undertaken at Western Jet Foil in Dover and Manston, Kent. Migrants are then moved to suitable accommodation locations as quickly as possible.

In terms of healthcare, extensive work has been undertaken with local and national health partners, including the Multi Agency Forum (MAF) to work through the specifics of healthcare provision being provided on the site. The health subgroup of the MAF was set up specifically to look at how we minimise the impact on local health services and facilitate primary health care on site which has now been established. Financial support is being provided to NHS Mid and South Essex, and the onsite primary health care service will register residents so that is no need to register with local GP practices.

Upon arrival in the UK, all individuals are offered a health check at Western Jet Foil in Dover and Manston, Kent. If necessary, healthcare practitioners at Manston administer medical care. On arrival at Manston, individuals are offered a diphtheria vaccination in line with current UKHSA recommendations in response to the outbreak in this population.

The Home Office has procedures in place to support individuals with potential symptoms of an infectious disease, including isolation spaces within Wethersfield and a designated isolation hotel. The Home Office receives advice and guidance where needed from the local UKHSA Health Protection Team on management of individuals and contacts with a suspected infectious disease. Anyone with symptoms of an infectious disease is made to isolate and can only enter the asylum system once assessed by doctor and deemed to be non-infectious.

The onsite provider has prior experience in meeting the health needs of asylum seekers.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
19th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to publish weekly data on the number of unaccompanied asylum seeking children who are missing from hotel accommodation and unaccounted for.

The data requested cannot be provided as it comes from live operational databases that have not been quality assured.

Published data can be found online at: www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) hotels are temporary accommodation that provide safeguarding for a child until they are ready to be transferred through the National Transfer Scheme (NTS) from an entry local authority to another local authority in the UK for ongoing care and support.

There are no UASC hotels in Scotland.

We take the safety of those in our care seriously. We have robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all young people in emergency interim hotels are safe and supported as we seek urgent placements with a local authority.

Young people are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day. Further care is provided in hotels by teams of social workers and nurses. All contingency sites have security staff on site 24/7 and providers liaise closely with local police to ensure the welfare and safety of vulnerable residents.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
19th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied asylum seeking children who went missing from hotel accommodation remain unaccounted for.

The data requested cannot be provided as it comes from live operational databases that have not been quality assured.

Published data can be found online at: www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) hotels are temporary accommodation that provide safeguarding for a child until they are ready to be transferred through the National Transfer Scheme (NTS) from an entry local authority to another local authority in the UK for ongoing care and support.

There are no UASC hotels in Scotland.

We take the safety of those in our care seriously. We have robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all young people in emergency interim hotels are safe and supported as we seek urgent placements with a local authority.

Young people are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day. Further care is provided in hotels by teams of social workers and nurses. All contingency sites have security staff on site 24/7 and providers liaise closely with local police to ensure the welfare and safety of vulnerable residents.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
18th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department has spent on procuring cruise ships to accommodate asylum seekers as of 18 July 2023.

There is an urgent need to reduce reliance on hotels to accommodate asylum seekers, to reduce cost to taxpayer and to better manage community impacts. In exploring potential alternative large sites, we continue to consider all available options to source appropriate and cost-effective temporary accommodation.

Vessels have been used safely and successfully by Scottish and Dutch Governments over past year as accommodation.

Other European Governments, in the same situation of needing to provide increased accommodation capacity, are using vessels.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
13th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, where people accommodated at MDP Wethersfield were previously accommodated; and what the average notice was that those people would be transferred to MDP Wethersfield.

We have a statutory duty to provide support and accommodation to destitute asylum seekers. Accommodation is provided on a ‘no choice’ basis at safe, legal and adequate accommodation including the Wethersfield site. If asylum seekers are to be moved from initial accommodation hotels to Wethersfield, service providers give notice as per the Asylum Accommodation & Support Contract (AASC) contractual agreement which is usually 5 days’ notice.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
13th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has set a (a) minimum and (b) maximum time that people will be accommodated at MDP Wethersfield.

Whilst the Home Office anticipates the period asylum seekers may be accommodated at MDP Wethersfield to be between six to nine months, this is dependent on the availability of onward dispersed accommodation. From 13 April 2022, all local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales are considered a dispersal area and will need to take part in asylum dispersal.

This is to ensure a fair and equitable accommodation spread of asylum seekers across the UK. We have agreed targets for every local authority and region in the UK to deliver by the end of 2023.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
13th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of people who will be transferred to the MDP Wethersfield site in (a) July and (b) August 2023; and on what dates she estimates that they will arrive.

The first group of asylum seekers are now at Wethersfield. We will be using a phased approach, increasing the number of asylum seekers accommodated at the site over time with the practicalities of managing the site under constant review. The site can accommodate 1700 individuals when fully operational.

From 13 April 2022, all local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales are considered a dispersal area and will need to take part in asylum dispersal. This is to ensure a fair and equitable accommodation spread of asylum seekers across the UK. We have agreed targets for every local authority and region in the UK to deliver by the end of 2023. Scotland is currently not meeting its dispersal accommodation target.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
13th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been transferred to MDP Wethersfield since 12 July 2023; and how many people are accommodated at that site.

The first group of asylum seekers are now at Wethersfield. We will be using a phased approach, increasing the number of asylum seekers accommodated at the site over time with the practicalities of managing the site under constant review. The site can accommodate 1700 individuals when fully operational.

From 13 April 2022, all local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales are considered a dispersal area and will need to take part in asylum dispersal. This is to ensure a fair and equitable accommodation spread of asylum seekers across the UK. We have agreed targets for every local authority and region in the UK to deliver by the end of 2023. Scotland is currently not meeting its dispersal accommodation target.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
3rd Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral contribution of 27 June 2023 by the Minister for Immigration, Official Report column 152, what the evidential basis is for the statement that the SNP does not house refugees in Scotland; and if he will publish the Minister's brief.

Under successive Conservative Governments since 2015 we have welcomed into the United Kingdom more than half a million people seeking sanctuary through our country-specific routes and our global routes run in coordination with the UNHCR. These safe and legal routes have prioritised the UK’s finite resources on those most in need, bypassing the people smuggling gangs to reach those directly in conflict zones. These schemes represent one of the most generous offerings in the UK’s recent history.

The SNP Government are accommodating just 4.5% of the total asylum population being housed in the UK under s95 duty, when Scotland makes up 8.1% of the UK population. Whereas Manchester houses around 1,800 asylum seekers, Edinburgh – a city of similar size – houses fewer than 50 asylum seekers. Just recently the Scottish Government and Edinburgh City Council opposed the berthing of a vessel in Leith, despite the exact same vessel being used to house Ukrainian refugees.

I am happy to clarify that as of 3rd July, of the local authorities in Scotland where the SNP are the largest party, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, Midlothian and North Ayrshire all housed zero asylum seekers under the s95 duty.

Despite continued numbers of small boat crossings, the latest published data shows that the SNP Government in Scotland is housing fewer asylum seekers than at the start of the year.

We continue to work closely with the Scottish Government and Scottish local authorities to ensure they play their part in housing asylum seekers.

If you would like to put forward specific proposals, please do contact the Home Office at: rasiengagementhubregionalconsultation@homeoffice.gov.uk(opens in a new tab) and officials will happily discuss this in greater detail with you.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
27th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 20 June to Question 189803 on Asylum: Children and with reference to oral evidence given by ECPAT UK and Barnardos to the Home Affairs Select Committee on 21 June 2023, how many unaccompanied asylum seeking children (a) were being accommodated in Home Office hotels and (b) remained missing from Home Office hotels on 26 June.

We take the safety of those in our care seriously. We have robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all young people in hotels are safe and supported as we seek urgent placements with a local authority.

Young people are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day. Further care is provided in hotels by teams of social workers and nurses. All contingency sites have security staff on site 24/7 and providers liaise closely with local police to ensure the welfare and safety of vulnerable residents.

There were 154 Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) missing as of 8 June 2023. The further data requested cannot be provided as it is from live operational databases, not published data.

If any child goes missing, including an accompanied asylum seeking child, the MARS (Missing After Reasonable Steps) protocol is followed. A multi-agency, missing persons meeting is chaired by the local authority to establish the young person's whereabouts and to ensure that they are safe. Similar protocols within police forces have safely reduced the number of missing episodes from placements by 36%.

The Home Office continue to work with the police and local authorities to ensure the children in our care are safe. The police are responsible for locating any missing children.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
27th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish weekly statistics on the number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children accommodated in hotels.

We take the safety of those in our care seriously. We have robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all young people in hotels are safe and supported as we seek urgent placements with a local authority.

Young people are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day. Further care is provided in hotels by teams of social workers and nurses. All contingency sites have security staff on site 24/7 and providers liaise closely with local police to ensure the welfare and safety of vulnerable residents.

We do not plan to publish weekly statistics on the number of children accommodated in hotels.

The National Transfer Scheme has seen 4,875 children transferred to local authorities with children’s services between 1 July 2021 and 31 March 2023, which is over six times the number of transfers in the same time frame in previous years, (October 2019 – June 2021 there were 793 transfers).

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
26th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the contribution of (a) the South Community Recovery Network in Glasgow and (b) other recovery communities to reducing crime locally.

No assessment has been made. Recovery from addictions in Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Government where powers are devolved for healthcare.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
15th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of unaccompanied asylum seeking children who went missing from hotel accommodation remain unaccounted for.

We take the safety of those in our care seriously. We have robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all young people in hotels are safe and supported as we seek urgent placements with a local authority.

Young people are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day. Further care is provided in hotels by teams of social workers and nurses. All contingency sites have security staff on site 24/7 and providers liaise closely with local police to ensure the welfare and safety of vulnerable residents.

As of 05 June, there were 154 young people missing.

If any child goes missing, including an accompanied asylum seeking child, the MARS (Missing After Reasonable Steps) protocol is followed. A multi-agency, missing persons meeting is chaired by the local authority to establish the young person's whereabouts and to ensure that they are safe. Similar protocols within police forces have safely reduced the number of missing episodes from placements by 36%.

The Home Office continue to work with the police and local authorities to ensure the children in our care are safe. The police are responsible for locating any missing children.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
7th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied asylum seeking children who have gone missing from hotel accommodation remain unaccounted for as of 7 June 2023.

We take the safety of those in our care seriously. We have robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all young people in hotels are safe and supported as we seek urgent placements with a local authority.

Young people are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day. Further care is provided in hotels by teams of social workers and nurses. All contingency sites have security staff on site 24/7 and providers liaise closely with local police to ensure the welfare and safety of vulnerable residents.

There are currently no unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) in hotels and there are 154 UASC still missing.

If any child goes missing the MARS (Missing After Reasonable Steps) protocol is followed. A multi-agency, missing persons meeting is chaired by the local authority to establish the young person's whereabouts and to ensure that they are safe. Similar protocols within police forces have safely reduced the number of missing episodes from placements by 36%.

The Home Office continue to work with the police and local authorities to ensure the children in our care are safe and the Police are responsible for locating any missing children.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
7th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are accommodated in hotels.

We take the safety of those in our care seriously. We have robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all young people in hotels are safe and supported as we seek urgent placements with a local authority.

Young people are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day. Further care is provided in hotels by teams of social workers and nurses. All contingency sites have security staff on site 24/7 and providers liaise closely with local police to ensure the welfare and safety of vulnerable residents.

There are currently no unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) in hotels and there are 154 UASC still missing.

If any child goes missing the MARS (Missing After Reasonable Steps) protocol is followed. A multi-agency, missing persons meeting is chaired by the local authority to establish the young person's whereabouts and to ensure that they are safe. Similar protocols within police forces have safely reduced the number of missing episodes from placements by 36%.

The Home Office continue to work with the police and local authorities to ensure the children in our care are safe and the Police are responsible for locating any missing children.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
6th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Minister for Immigration plans to reply to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central of 24 April 2023, reference ZA32944.

A response will be provided as soon as possible.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
24th May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the value is of Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) fees paid by (a) international students and (b) the dependents of international students each year since the inception of the IHS.

It is not possible to provide route specific information about IHS values as the data held in the IHS system is not directly linked to Home Office case-working systems.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
24th May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement of 23 May 2023, HCWS800 on Immigration update, what evidence her Department holds to support the existence of unscrupulous education agents supporting inappropriate applications from international students.

The package of measures we have introduced to reform the student route strikes the right balance between protecting the economic benefits students can bring to the UK whilst meeting the Government’s commitment to lower net migration.

We consider our Public Sector Equality Duty in the development of all policy, and an Equality Impact Assessment was produced and considered in developing this package of reforms.

We regularly engage with a range of organisations to understand potential policy impacts, including with Universities Scotland and the Scottish Government. The Devolved Governments were informed of the publication of the Written Ministerial Statement on 23 May by way of a letter from Home Office Ministers.

The public rightly expects us to control immigration and ensure we have a system that works in the UK’s best interests. and The Department for Education will lead the review of education agents.

We keep all our immigration policies under constant review to ensure they best serve the UK and reflect the public’s priorities.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
24th May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement of 23 May 2023, HCWS800 on Immigration update, what (a) discussions and (b) correspondence she has had with universities in Scotland on her immigration update.

The package of measures we have introduced to reform the student route strikes the right balance between protecting the economic benefits students can bring to the UK whilst meeting the Government’s commitment to lower net migration.

We consider our Public Sector Equality Duty in the development of all policy, and an Equality Impact Assessment was produced and considered in developing this package of reforms.

We regularly engage with a range of organisations to understand potential policy impacts, including with Universities Scotland and the Scottish Government. The Devolved Governments were informed of the publication of the Written Ministerial Statement on 23 May by way of a letter from Home Office Ministers.

The public rightly expects us to control immigration and ensure we have a system that works in the UK’s best interests. and The Department for Education will lead the review of education agents.

We keep all our immigration policies under constant review to ensure they best serve the UK and reflect the public’s priorities.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
24th May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement of 23 May 2023, HCWS800 on Immigration update, what (a) discussions and (b) correspondence she has had with Scottish Ministers on the her immigration update.

The package of measures we have introduced to reform the student route strikes the right balance between protecting the economic benefits students can bring to the UK whilst meeting the Government’s commitment to lower net migration.

We consider our Public Sector Equality Duty in the development of all policy, and an Equality Impact Assessment was produced and considered in developing this package of reforms.

We regularly engage with a range of organisations to understand potential policy impacts, including with Universities Scotland and the Scottish Government. The Devolved Governments were informed of the publication of the Written Ministerial Statement on 23 May by way of a letter from Home Office Ministers.

The public rightly expects us to control immigration and ensure we have a system that works in the UK’s best interests. and The Department for Education will lead the review of education agents.

We keep all our immigration policies under constant review to ensure they best serve the UK and reflect the public’s priorities.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
24th May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to publish an equality impact assessment on the policies in her Written Ministerial Statement of 23 May 2023 entitled Immigration update, HCWS800.

The package of measures we have introduced to reform the student route strikes the right balance between protecting the economic benefits students can bring to the UK whilst meeting the Government’s commitment to lower net migration.

We consider our Public Sector Equality Duty in the development of all policy, and an Equality Impact Assessment was produced and considered in developing this package of reforms.

We regularly engage with a range of organisations to understand potential policy impacts, including with Universities Scotland and the Scottish Government. The Devolved Governments were informed of the publication of the Written Ministerial Statement on 23 May by way of a letter from Home Office Ministers.

The public rightly expects us to control immigration and ensure we have a system that works in the UK’s best interests. and The Department for Education will lead the review of education agents.

We keep all our immigration policies under constant review to ensure they best serve the UK and reflect the public’s priorities.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
24th May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of international students studying in the UK were subsequently granted skilled worker visas in each of the last 10 years.

e Home Office does not routinely publish data on how many international students switched out of the student route into work routes before their studies were completed.

Data on how people move through the immigration system, including the number of those who initially came on a student route and switched to work routes, are published in dataset MJ_D01 of Migrant Journey report.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
24th May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Written Statement of 23 May on Immigration update, HCWS800, how many international students switched out of the student route into work routes before their studies were completed in each of the last ten years.

e Home Office does not routinely publish data on how many international students switched out of the student route into work routes before their studies were completed.

Data on how people move through the immigration system, including the number of those who initially came on a student route and switched to work routes, are published in dataset MJ_D01 of Migrant Journey report.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
10th May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many members of the public are subjected to automated decision making in the Home Office.

The Home Office does not record this information.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
3rd May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the hon. Member for Glasgow Central's enquiries of (a) 9 February 2023, reference ZA24239, (b) 17 March 2020, reference ZA32188 and (c) 17 March 2023, reference ZA31895.

This will be responded to in due course.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
25th Apr 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions unexplained wealth orders have been used since the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 received royal assent.

UWOs have been applied for in 2 investigations since the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act received Royal Assent.

Tom Tugendhat
Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
18th Apr 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has updated country advice for visa decision makers for applications from Sudanese nationals following the recent outbreak of conflict in that country.

We are monitoring the situation in Sudan carefully.

New or updated country specific advice for asylum decision makers will be based on the usual process.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
27th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications have been approved under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme in which the applicant was not accepted as having been ordinarily resident in Ukraine on or directly before 1 January 2022, which is set out as a requirement in the rules.

Applicants who were not ordinarily resident in the Ukraine during the required period may be considered exceptionally depending on their circumstances. Figures on the number of applicants this applies to are not published separately.

The latest published figures can be found here:

Ukraine Family Scheme, Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (Homes for Ukraine) and Ukraine Extension Scheme visa data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
25th Jan 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the correspondence with the hon. Member for Glasgow Central of 5 January 2023, reference ZA24239, what the oldest allowed appeal awaiting processing is as of 25 January 2023; and how many allowed appeals are awaiting processing.

The requested information cannot be accurately extracted from our internal systems. To provide this information would require a manual trawl of successful appeals and to do so would incur disproportionate cost.

Where an appeal has been allowed in favour of the appellant, and is not subject to onward appeal, we take all reasonable steps to implement the allowed appeal in a timely manner.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
20th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central of 3 November 2022 regarding her constituent Mr Safi with reference ZA27413.

ZA28096 – the Home Office replied on 21 December.

ZA27413 – the Home Office replied on 21 December.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
20th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central of 14 October 2022 regarding her constituent Mr Baig with reference ZA28096.

ZA28096 – the Home Office replied on 21 December.

ZA27413 – the Home Office replied on 21 December.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
20th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many notices of intent have been issued to asylum seekers under the Rwanda plan.

A breakdown of individuals considered for relocation under the Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda is not currently available however we are working to bring that data in line with current reporting and hope to publish that information in the near future.

The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of individuals being managed under inadmissibility rules and can be found online at How many people do we grant protection to? - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
19th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central of 14 October 2022 regarding her constituent Ms Keister with reference ZA28436.

The Home Office replied on 30 December 2022.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
19th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central of 13 October 2022 regarding her constituent Mr Fekak with reference ZA30285.

ZA29270 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30303 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA30568 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30572 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29323 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA17137 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA27841 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA21988 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA27703 – The Director General responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 21 December 2022.

ZA30036 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30030 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29937 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Members correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29652 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA29627 – The Home Office responded on 21 December 2022.

ZA29764 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA28409 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA24744 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence during an engagement call 1 December 2022.

ZA30285 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
19th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central of 6 October 2022 regarding her constituent Mr Gill with reference ZA29270.

ZA29270 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30303 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA30568 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30572 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29323 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA17137 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA27841 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA21988 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA27703 – The Director General responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 21 December 2022.

ZA30036 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30030 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29937 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Members correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29652 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA29627 – The Home Office responded on 21 December 2022.

ZA29764 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA28409 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA24744 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence during an engagement call 1 December 2022.

ZA30285 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
19th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central of 6 October 2022 regarding her constituent Mr Ahmad with reference ZA30303.

ZA29270 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30303 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA30568 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30572 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29323 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA17137 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA27841 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA21988 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA27703 – The Director General responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 21 December 2022.

ZA30036 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30030 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29937 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Members correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29652 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA29627 – The Home Office responded on 21 December 2022.

ZA29764 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA28409 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA24744 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence during an engagement call 1 December 2022.

ZA30285 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
19th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central of 6 October 2022 regarding her constituent Mr Babadi with reference ZA30568.

ZA29270 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30303 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA30568 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30572 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29323 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA17137 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA27841 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA21988 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA27703 – The Director General responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 21 December 2022.

ZA30036 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30030 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29937 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Members correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29652 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA29627 – The Home Office responded on 21 December 2022.

ZA29764 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA28409 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA24744 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence during an engagement call 1 December 2022.

ZA30285 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
19th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central of 6 October 2022 regarding her constituent Ms Vasylieva with reference ZA30572.

ZA29270 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30303 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA30568 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30572 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29323 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA17137 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA27841 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA21988 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA27703 – The Director General responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 21 December 2022.

ZA30036 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30030 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29937 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Members correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29652 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA29627 – The Home Office responded on 21 December 2022.

ZA29764 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA28409 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA24744 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence during an engagement call 1 December 2022.

ZA30285 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
19th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central of 14 October 2022 regarding her constituent Ms Kurjata with reference ZA29323.

ZA29270 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30303 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA30568 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30572 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29323 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA17137 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA27841 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA21988 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA27703 – The Director General responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 21 December 2022.

ZA30036 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30030 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29937 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Members correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29652 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA29627 – The Home Office responded on 21 December 2022.

ZA29764 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA28409 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA24744 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence during an engagement call 1 December 2022.

ZA30285 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
19th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central of 29 September 2022 regarding her constituent Mr Hider with reference ZA17137.

ZA29270 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30303 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA30568 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30572 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29323 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA17137 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA27841 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA21988 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA27703 – The Director General responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 21 December 2022.

ZA30036 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30030 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29937 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Members correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29652 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA29627 – The Home Office responded on 21 December 2022.

ZA29764 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA28409 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA24744 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence during an engagement call 1 December 2022.

ZA30285 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
19th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central of 22 September 2022 regarding her constituent Ms Githui with reference ZA27841.

ZA29270 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30303 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA30568 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30572 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29323 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA17137 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA27841 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA21988 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA27703 – The Director General responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 21 December 2022.

ZA30036 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30030 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29937 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Members correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29652 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA29627 – The Home Office responded on 21 December 2022.

ZA29764 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA28409 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA24744 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence during an engagement call 1 December 2022.

ZA30285 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
19th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central of 26 August 2022 regarding her constituent Ms Goldacre with reference ZA21988.

ZA29270 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30303 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA30568 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30572 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29323 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA17137 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA27841 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA21988 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA27703 – The Director General responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 21 December 2022.

ZA30036 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30030 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29937 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Members correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29652 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA29627 – The Home Office responded on 21 December 2022.

ZA29764 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA28409 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA24744 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence during an engagement call 1 December 2022.

ZA30285 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
19th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central of 19 August 2022 regarding her constituent Mr Tayeh with reference ZA27703.

ZA29270 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30303 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA30568 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30572 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29323 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA17137 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA27841 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA21988 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA27703 – The Director General responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 21 December 2022.

ZA30036 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30030 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29937 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Members correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29652 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA29627 – The Home Office responded on 21 December 2022.

ZA29764 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA28409 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA24744 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence during an engagement call 1 December 2022.

ZA30285 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
19th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central of 11 August 2022 regarding her constituent Mr Alale with reference ZA30036.

ZA29270 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30303 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA30568 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30572 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29323 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA17137 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA27841 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA21988 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA27703 – The Director General responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 21 December 2022.

ZA30036 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30030 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29937 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Members correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29652 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA29627 – The Home Office responded on 21 December 2022.

ZA29764 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA28409 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA24744 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence during an engagement call 1 December 2022.

ZA30285 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
19th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central of 4 August 2022 regarding her constituent Mr Atkinson with reference ZA30030.

ZA29270 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30303 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA30568 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30572 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29323 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA17137 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA27841 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA21988 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA27703 – The Director General responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 21 December 2022.

ZA30036 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30030 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29937 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Members correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29652 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA29627 – The Home Office responded on 21 December 2022.

ZA29764 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA28409 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA24744 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence during an engagement call 1 December 2022.

ZA30285 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
19th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central of 4 August 2022 regarding her constituent Mr Bustan with reference ZA29937.

ZA29270 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30303 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA30568 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30572 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29323 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA17137 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA27841 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA21988 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA27703 – The Director General responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 21 December 2022.

ZA30036 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30030 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29937 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Members correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29652 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA29627 – The Home Office responded on 21 December 2022.

ZA29764 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA28409 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA24744 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence during an engagement call 1 December 2022.

ZA30285 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
19th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central of 14 July 2022 regarding her constituent Ms Saroor with reference ZA29652.

ZA29270 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30303 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA30568 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30572 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29323 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA17137 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA27841 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA21988 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA27703 – The Director General responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 21 December 2022.

ZA30036 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30030 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29937 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Members correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29652 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA29627 – The Home Office responded on 21 December 2022.

ZA29764 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA28409 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA24744 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence during an engagement call 1 December 2022.

ZA30285 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
19th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central of 13 July 2022 regarding her constituent Ms Oladapo with reference ZA29764.

ZA29270 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30303 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA30568 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30572 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29323 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA17137 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA27841 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA21988 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA27703 – The Director General responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 21 December 2022.

ZA30036 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30030 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29937 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Members correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29652 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA29627 – The Home Office responded on 21 December 2022.

ZA29764 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA28409 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA24744 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence during an engagement call 1 December 2022.

ZA30285 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
19th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central of 28 June 2022 regarding her constituent Mr Ali Khuda Baksh with reference ZA29627.

ZA29270 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30303 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA30568 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30572 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29323 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA17137 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA27841 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA21988 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA27703 – The Director General responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 21 December 2022.

ZA30036 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30030 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29937 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Members correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29652 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA29627 – The Home Office responded on 21 December 2022.

ZA29764 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA28409 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA24744 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence during an engagement call 1 December 2022.

ZA30285 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
19th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central of 16 June 2022 regarding Ms Chukubereduko, with reference ZA28409.

ZA29270 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30303 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA30568 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30572 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29323 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA17137 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA27841 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA21988 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA27703 – The Director General responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 21 December 2022.

ZA30036 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30030 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29937 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Members correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29652 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA29627 – The Home Office responded on 21 December 2022.

ZA29764 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA28409 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA24744 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence during an engagement call 1 December 2022.

ZA30285 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
19th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central of 25 May 2022 regarding her constituent, Mr Jemmo, with reference ZA24744.

ZA29270 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30303 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA30568 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30572 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29323 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA17137 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA27841 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA21988 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA27703 – The Director General responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 21 December 2022.

ZA30036 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA30030 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29937 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Members correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA29652 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA29627 – The Home Office responded on 21 December 2022.

ZA29764 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence on 20 December 2022.

ZA28409 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

ZA24744 – The Home Office responded to the hon. Member’s correspondence during an engagement call 1 December 2022.

ZA30285 – The Home Office has no record of receiving correspondence from the hon. Member.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
19th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central of 30 June 2022 with reference ZA29473.

The Home Office will issue a response shortly.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
7th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Office, whether the Minister for Refugees plans to respond to the correspondence of 26 November 2021 from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central to the Minister for Safeguarding on 26 November 2021, case reference ZA25937.

The Home Office responded to the correspondence on 9 December 2021, and resent the response on 9 November 2022.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
31st Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether people detained at Manston Asylum Processing Centre have access to (a) their own mobile phone and (b) a public phone.

Manston operates as a non-residential short-term holding facility. In order to operate as a short-term holding facility (STHF), a site does not need to be designated as one. The Immigration (Places of Detention) Direction 2021 sets out the places in which people can lawfully be detained, and included within that are STHFs (both non-residential and residential STHFs) as set out in paragraph 3(1)(c) of the Direction. Only immigration removal centres are designated individually by name.

Immigration (Places of Detention) Direction 2021 (publishing.service.gov.uk)

The STHF Rules 2018 apply by default to Manston, minus the specific dis-applications/modifications for holding rooms set out in Rule 6 of the STHF Rules 2018 STHF-rules-operational-guidance-v1.0-EXT.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk). Rule 28 provides that individuals in STHFs must have access to a telephone to make calls, and the means to receive incoming telephone calls, which they must be notified of promptly. While their own mobile phones are securely stored with their property, the Home Office is ensuring that people held at Manston have access to mobile phones held by the contractors operating the facility.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
31st Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether Manston Asylum Processing Centre is designated as a non-residential short term holding facility under the Short-term Holding Facility Rules 2018.

Manston operates as a non-residential short-term holding facility. In order to operate as a short-term holding facility (STHF), a site does not need to be designated as one. The Immigration (Places of Detention) Direction 2021 sets out the places in which people can lawfully be detained, and included within that are STHFs (both non-residential and residential STHFs) as set out in paragraph 3(1)(c) of the Direction. Only immigration removal centres are designated individually by name.

Immigration (Places of Detention) Direction 2021 (publishing.service.gov.uk)

The STHF Rules 2018 apply by default to Manston, minus the specific dis-applications/modifications for holding rooms set out in Rule 6 of the STHF Rules 2018 STHF-rules-operational-guidance-v1.0-EXT.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk). Rule 28 provides that individuals in STHFs must have access to a telephone to make calls, and the means to receive incoming telephone calls, which they must be notified of promptly. While their own mobile phones are securely stored with their property, the Home Office is ensuring that people held at Manston have access to mobile phones held by the contractors operating the facility.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
31st Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many health professionals are allocated to the Manston Asylum Processing Facility.

Medical services are delivered at Manston and Western Jetfoil through two separate but complementary contracts with external suppliers. Currently, in total, there are eight paramedical/medical trained staff on site by day, in a fully equipped medical centre. In addition, there are three Emergency Department Consultant doctors providing clinical cover at the site; and a Consultant is on site during the day between 0800-2000hrs, with on-call cover provided overnight.

To date there have been 6 confirmed cases of Diphtheria at Manston. All suspected cases are isolated in line with public health guidance. Every confirmed case is referred to the UK Health Security Agency by the laboratory.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
31st Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many confirmed diphtheria cases have been detected at the Manston Asylum Processing Centre; and how many of these have been reported to the UK Health Security Agency.

Medical services are delivered at Manston and Western Jetfoil through two separate but complementary contracts with external suppliers. Currently, in total, there are eight paramedical/medical trained staff on site by day, in a fully equipped medical centre. In addition, there are three Emergency Department Consultant doctors providing clinical cover at the site; and a Consultant is on site during the day between 0800-2000hrs, with on-call cover provided overnight.

To date there have been 6 confirmed cases of Diphtheria at Manston. All suspected cases are isolated in line with public health guidance. Every confirmed case is referred to the UK Health Security Agency by the laboratory.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
31st Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children have been detained at the Manston Asylum Processing facility in each day since that facility opened; and what is the (a) mean, (b) median and (c) longest time a child has been detained at that facility.

The data is not held in the format requested.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
2nd Sep 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the later dated 25 May 2022 from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central regarding a constituent, reference 28507935.

The Home Office responded to the correspondence on 5 September 2022.

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
21st Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were detained under immigration powers in a prison at the end of their sentence in 2021; and how many of those people were subsequently released back into the community at the end of their period of detention.

The Home Office publishes statistics on people entering, leaving and in immigration detention in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. The number of people in detention at the end of each quarter are in table Det_02 of the ‘Detention detailed datasets’ and can be broken down by place of detention including by ‘H M Prisons’ with the latest data relating to the end of March 2022.

Data on in detention counts the number of people in detention on the last day of the period (e.g. 31 December).

Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook.

The number of people leaving detention by reason for leaving are in table Det_04a of the ‘Detention summary tables’ with the number of people leaving detention by last place of detention (including ‘H M Prisons’) are in table Det_04c of the ‘Detention summary tables’ with the latest data relating to the year ending March 2022.

Last place of detention does not show where an individual spent their time in detention. In some cases, an individual may have spent a period of time detained elsewhere before being moved to their last place of detention.

21st Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the correspondence of 24 June 2022 from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central on Mr Dandena.

The Immigration Minister replied on 29 July 2022.

21st Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much it costs to hold an individual under immigration powers in prison, per person per night.

The average cost to detain an individual in immigration detention is provided on a per day basis. The current daily cost per individual in immigration detention, which includes individuals held under immigration powers in the prison estate, is £107.23. Data can be found at the link: Immigration Enforcement data: Q1 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

13th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that international student visas are issued in time for the start of the upcoming university term.

The UK continues to be a world leader for international education, the number of international higher education students in the UK is currently over 600,000 a year.

As part of our regular planning, we have analysed the expected demand and resource needed for the summer period. We commenced training additional staff from the beginning of May, and this will continue throughout June and July, to ensure we have enough staff in place. We are also working with our commercial suppliers to ensure they have capacity to meet the student demand as we approach the summer peak.

We have closely engaged with the education sector on our plans, and to reinforce the part they play in ensuring sponsorship certificates are issued by them in good time before a course is due to start. We have also communicated with the education sector to encourage students to apply as soon as they canand to ensure they supply all the necessary documents to prevent delays.

Students applying for their initial Student visa to come to the UK can apply up to 6 months before the start of the course and we encourage them to apply as early as possible

24th May 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to include an immigration detention centre at the Linton-on-Ouse asylum accommodation site.

The immigration removal estate is kept under ongoing review to ensure the Home Office has sufficient capacity, in the right places and it provides value for money.

24th May 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff will be required at the Linton-on-Ouse asylum reception centre and how many of those staff have been recruited.

We have been developing proposals to accommodate asylum seekers at Linton-on-Ouse once it is safe and lawful to do so. We would only consider accommodating individuals onsite once all the legal requirements have been met.

We are undertaking feasibility assessments to understand what the capacity of the site is. To meaningfully relieve the pressures on our accommodation estate, we would initially look to accommodate circa 60 people at Linton, then using a phased approach increase occupancy.

Accommodation at Linton would consist primarily of single, double, and triple rooms with a small number of four-person rooms. Where rooms are shared by service users, the size of the rooms will be in accordance with accommodation regulations.

The number of staff required at Linton-on-Ouse will vary depending on the number of asylum seekers onsite. This would ensure we have the required number of staff to support delivery of services to asylum seekers accommodated at Linton-on-Ouse.

The accommodation centre at Linton-on-Ouse would be non-detained. We take safeguarding of asylum seekers seriously which is why we would ask residents and visitors to sign in and out of the site.

24th May 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether residents will sleep in (a) dormitories or (b) shared rooms at the new asylum accommodation centre at RAF Linton-on-Ouse; and what the capacity is of those rooms.

We have been developing proposals to accommodate asylum seekers at Linton-on-Ouse once it is safe and lawful to do so. We would only consider accommodating individuals onsite once all the legal requirements have been met.

We are undertaking feasibility assessments to understand what the capacity of the site is. To meaningfully relieve the pressures on our accommodation estate, we would initially look to accommodate circa 60 people at Linton, then using a phased approach increase occupancy.

Accommodation at Linton would consist primarily of single, double, and triple rooms with a small number of four-person rooms. Where rooms are shared by service users, the size of the rooms will be in accordance with accommodation regulations.

The number of staff required at Linton-on-Ouse will vary depending on the number of asylum seekers onsite. This would ensure we have the required number of staff to support delivery of services to asylum seekers accommodated at Linton-on-Ouse.

The accommodation centre at Linton-on-Ouse would be non-detained. We take safeguarding of asylum seekers seriously which is why we would ask residents and visitors to sign in and out of the site.

24th May 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the maximum number of residents is for the proposed Linton-on-Ouse asylum accommodate site.

We have been developing proposals to accommodate asylum seekers at Linton-on-Ouse once it is safe and lawful to do so. We would only consider accommodating individuals onsite once all the legal requirements have been met.

We are undertaking feasibility assessments to understand what the capacity of the site is. To meaningfully relieve the pressures on our accommodation estate, we would initially look to accommodate circa 60 people at Linton, then using a phased approach increase occupancy.

Accommodation at Linton would consist primarily of single, double, and triple rooms with a small number of four-person rooms. Where rooms are shared by service users, the size of the rooms will be in accordance with accommodation regulations.

The number of staff required at Linton-on-Ouse will vary depending on the number of asylum seekers onsite. This would ensure we have the required number of staff to support delivery of services to asylum seekers accommodated at Linton-on-Ouse.

The accommodation centre at Linton-on-Ouse would be non-detained. We take safeguarding of asylum seekers seriously which is why we would ask residents and visitors to sign in and out of the site.

24th May 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to set a maximum length of time that a person can be housed at the proposed Linton-on-Ouse asylum accommodation centre.

We have been developing proposals to accommodate asylum seekers at Linton-on-Ouse once it is safe and lawful to do so. We would only consider accommodating individuals onsite once all the legal requirements have been met.

We are undertaking feasibility assessments to understand what the capacity of the site is. To meaningfully relieve the pressures on our accommodation estate, we would initially look to accommodate circa 60 people at Linton, then using a phased approach increase occupancy.

Accommodation at Linton would consist primarily of single, double, and triple rooms with a small number of four-person rooms. Where rooms are shared by service users, the size of the rooms will be in accordance with accommodation regulations.

The number of staff required at Linton-on-Ouse will vary depending on the number of asylum seekers onsite. This would ensure we have the required number of staff to support delivery of services to asylum seekers accommodated at Linton-on-Ouse.

The accommodation centre at Linton-on-Ouse would be non-detained. We take safeguarding of asylum seekers seriously which is why we would ask residents and visitors to sign in and out of the site.

24th May 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department's timescale is for commencing use of the Linton-on-Ouse site to house people seeking asylum.

We have been developing proposals to accommodate asylum seekers at Linton-on-Ouse once it is safe and lawful to do so. We would only consider accommodating individuals onsite once all the legal requirements have been met.

We are undertaking feasibility assessments to understand what the capacity of the site is. To meaningfully relieve the pressures on our accommodation estate, we would initially look to accommodate circa 60 people at Linton, then using a phased approach increase occupancy.

Accommodation at Linton would consist primarily of single, double, and triple rooms with a small number of four-person rooms. Where rooms are shared by service users, the size of the rooms will be in accordance with accommodation regulations.

The number of staff required at Linton-on-Ouse will vary depending on the number of asylum seekers onsite. This would ensure we have the required number of staff to support delivery of services to asylum seekers accommodated at Linton-on-Ouse.

The accommodation centre at Linton-on-Ouse would be non-detained. We take safeguarding of asylum seekers seriously which is why we would ask residents and visitors to sign in and out of the site.

24th May 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to impose entry and exit restrictions on people housed at the new asylum accommodation centre at RAF Linton-on-Ouse.

We have been developing proposals to accommodate asylum seekers at Linton-on-Ouse once it is safe and lawful to do so. We would only consider accommodating individuals onsite once all the legal requirements have been met.

We are undertaking feasibility assessments to understand what the capacity of the site is. To meaningfully relieve the pressures on our accommodation estate, we would initially look to accommodate circa 60 people at Linton, then using a phased approach increase occupancy.

Accommodation at Linton would consist primarily of single, double, and triple rooms with a small number of four-person rooms. Where rooms are shared by service users, the size of the rooms will be in accordance with accommodation regulations.

The number of staff required at Linton-on-Ouse will vary depending on the number of asylum seekers onsite. This would ensure we have the required number of staff to support delivery of services to asylum seekers accommodated at Linton-on-Ouse.

The accommodation centre at Linton-on-Ouse would be non-detained. We take safeguarding of asylum seekers seriously which is why we would ask residents and visitors to sign in and out of the site.

12th May 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help ensure that people living with HIV who are removed to Rwanda will have (a) access to the same standard of care, including medical treatment, (b) protections against stigma and (c) rights to confidentiality that they would have been entitled to in the UK.

Everyone considered for relocations will be screened and have access to legal advice. Decisions will be taken on a case-by-case basis, and nobody will be removed if it is unsafe or inappropriate for them, including in relation to an individual’s specific medical needs.

Under the Memorandum of Understanding governing the Migration and Economic Development Partnership, the Government of Rwanda has committed to ensuring support is provided to ensure the health, security and wellbeing of relocated individuals.

Rwanda’s constitution includes a broad prohibition on discrimination.

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
14th Apr 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to issue a a response to constituent, Ozbey Dinler, awaiting confirmation of his naturalisation application which was granted 4 January 2022.

Responses have been sent to Mr Dinler’s email address on 4 January and 30 March in accordance with his declared preference. A paper copy has now been sent to his postal address.

14th Apr 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential consequences of proscribing Ansar Allah as a terrorist organisation on providing humanitarian assistance.

The Government condemns the recent attacks by the Houthis, and maintains that there is no military solution to the conflict. An inclusive political settlement is the only way to bring long-term stability to Yemen and to address the worsening humanitarian crisis, and the UK is using its position as the Yemen penholder at the United Nations to further this cause.

Any decision to proscribe a group is only ever made after careful consideration is given to whether the statutory test – whether the group is concerned in terrorism – is met, and whether the exercise of discretion to proscribe is proportionate.

The Government does not routinely comment on intelligence matters, including whether an organisation is under consideration for proscription. The Government keeps the list of proscribed organisations under review.

Damian Hinds
Minister of State (Education)
18th Jan 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason a public consultation on extending the use of Napier Barracks as asylum accommodation for a further five years was not held prior to the decision to proceed with the extension of its use.

Given the increasing pressure on the asylum accommodation system, the Home Office took the decision that retaining the use of Napier beyond 21 September 2021 was necessary to ensure sufficient accommodation was available to uphold our statutory requirement.

The Home Office engaged with statutory partners, members of parliament and local government before the SDO was laid before Parliament. The timing of this decision and the circumstances in which it was made (i.e. the quickly growing need to secure accommodation) dictated only a limited level of engagement could be undertaken.

The Home Office is currently consulting on the continued use of Napier Barracks as accommodation for eligible asylum seekers whilst their claims for asylum are being considered. The consultation description is available at: Napier barracks planning application (www.gov.uk)

All representations made in relation to the Planning Application will be considered to inform the planning process and any representation will be contained within a Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) report. This report will be hosted on the Gov.UK website and those who made representations will be notified to advise them the SCI is now in the public domain.

18th Jan 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many responses to the public consultation on extending the use of Napier Barracks as asylum accommodation for a further further years will be taken into account, given that the extension on its use came into force on 21 September 2021.

Given the increasing pressure on the asylum accommodation system, the Home Office took the decision that retaining the use of Napier beyond 21 September 2021 was necessary to ensure sufficient accommodation was available to uphold our statutory requirement.

The Home Office engaged with statutory partners, members of parliament and local government before the SDO was laid before Parliament. The timing of this decision and the circumstances in which it was made (i.e. the quickly growing need to secure accommodation) dictated only a limited level of engagement could be undertaken.

The Home Office is currently consulting on the continued use of Napier Barracks as accommodation for eligible asylum seekers whilst their claims for asylum are being considered. The consultation description is available at: Napier barracks planning application (www.gov.uk)

All representations made in relation to the Planning Application will be considered to inform the planning process and any representation will be contained within a Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) report. This report will be hosted on the Gov.UK website and those who made representations will be notified to advise them the SCI is now in the public domain.

17th Jan 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will review the financial thresholds for family visas.

The minimum income requirement was implemented in July 2012, following advice from the Migration Advisory Committee.

It is intended to ensure financial independence and encourage integration, although several concessions were introduced in response to the impacts of Covid-19.

4th Jan 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what training has been delivered to first responders on the creation of the Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority to ensure that adults identified as potential victims are able to give informed consent to a referral.

We are committed to having robust and victim-focused measures in place for addressing modern slavery. The Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority (IECA) was created to streamline decision-making and ensure, wherever possible, that the various factors which may be pertinent to decisions about an individual are taken by those who can consider their circumstances most fully.

Immigration Enforcement’s immediate priority is always the welfare of the individual, and to ensure that all vulnerable migrants receive the support and assistance they need regardless of their immigration status. Immigration Enforcement already make decisions on key safeguarding and vulnerability matters such as the Adults at Risk policy and human rights decisions. Both the IECA and the Single Competent Authority (SCA) decision makers receive the same training on National Referral Mechanism (NRM) decision making and consistently apply the statutory guidance for potential victims of modern slavery.

Both competent authorities are held to account through existing quality assurance processes and the Multi-Agency Assurance Panels will continue to quality assure all negative Conclusive Grounds decisions.

The data on decisions taken by the IECA will be set out in the quarterly publication of NRM statistics and a breakdown by competent authority will be published once there is sufficient data to ensure individuals are not identifiable. We will regularly review this data to understand the impact of the change and ensure polices are being applied consistently.

This Government remains committed to identifying victims quickly, enhancing the support they receive and improving the training given to First Responders, who are responsible for referring potential victims into the NRM.

The Home Office has produced e-learning to help First Responders to identify potential victims of modern slavery and make referrals into the NRM when appropriate to do so. The e-learning is available through the Modern Slavery Organised Immigration Crime (MSOIC) website here: https://www.policingslavery.co.uk/transforming-our-response/training-delivery/first-responder-training/ .

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
4th Jan 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she will take to monitor the decision making of the Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority to ensure consistency of decision making across her Department's agencies.

We are committed to having robust and victim-focused measures in place for addressing modern slavery. The Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority (IECA) was created to streamline decision-making and ensure, wherever possible, that the various factors which may be pertinent to decisions about an individual are taken by those who can consider their circumstances most fully.

Immigration Enforcement’s immediate priority is always the welfare of the individual, and to ensure that all vulnerable migrants receive the support and assistance they need regardless of their immigration status. Immigration Enforcement already make decisions on key safeguarding and vulnerability matters such as the Adults at Risk policy and human rights decisions. Both the IECA and the Single Competent Authority (SCA) decision makers receive the same training on National Referral Mechanism (NRM) decision making and consistently apply the statutory guidance for potential victims of modern slavery.

Both competent authorities are held to account through existing quality assurance processes and the Multi-Agency Assurance Panels will continue to quality assure all negative Conclusive Grounds decisions.

The data on decisions taken by the IECA will be set out in the quarterly publication of NRM statistics and a breakdown by competent authority will be published once there is sufficient data to ensure individuals are not identifiable. We will regularly review this data to understand the impact of the change and ensure polices are being applied consistently.

This Government remains committed to identifying victims quickly, enhancing the support they receive and improving the training given to First Responders, who are responsible for referring potential victims into the NRM.

The Home Office has produced e-learning to help First Responders to identify potential victims of modern slavery and make referrals into the NRM when appropriate to do so. The e-learning is available through the Modern Slavery Organised Immigration Crime (MSOIC) website here: https://www.policingslavery.co.uk/transforming-our-response/training-delivery/first-responder-training/ .

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
4th Jan 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she will take to ensure that the existence of two trafficking and slavery decision makers does not result in differences in decision making based on immigration status.

We are committed to having robust and victim-focused measures in place for addressing modern slavery. The Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority (IECA) was created to streamline decision-making and ensure, wherever possible, that the various factors which may be pertinent to decisions about an individual are taken by those who can consider their circumstances most fully.

Immigration Enforcement’s immediate priority is always the welfare of the individual, and to ensure that all vulnerable migrants receive the support and assistance they need regardless of their immigration status. Immigration Enforcement already make decisions on key safeguarding and vulnerability matters such as the Adults at Risk policy and human rights decisions. Both the IECA and the Single Competent Authority (SCA) decision makers receive the same training on National Referral Mechanism (NRM) decision making and consistently apply the statutory guidance for potential victims of modern slavery.

Both competent authorities are held to account through existing quality assurance processes and the Multi-Agency Assurance Panels will continue to quality assure all negative Conclusive Grounds decisions.

The data on decisions taken by the IECA will be set out in the quarterly publication of NRM statistics and a breakdown by competent authority will be published once there is sufficient data to ensure individuals are not identifiable. We will regularly review this data to understand the impact of the change and ensure polices are being applied consistently.

This Government remains committed to identifying victims quickly, enhancing the support they receive and improving the training given to First Responders, who are responsible for referring potential victims into the NRM.

The Home Office has produced e-learning to help First Responders to identify potential victims of modern slavery and make referrals into the NRM when appropriate to do so. The e-learning is available through the Modern Slavery Organised Immigration Crime (MSOIC) website here: https://www.policingslavery.co.uk/transforming-our-response/training-delivery/first-responder-training/ .

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
4th Jan 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the reasons are for the (a) creation of the Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority on 8 November 2021 and (b) short timeframe for its creation.

We are committed to having robust and victim-focused measures in place for addressing modern slavery. The Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority (IECA) was created to streamline decision-making and ensure, wherever possible, that the various factors which may be pertinent to decisions about an individual are taken by those who can consider their circumstances most fully.

Immigration Enforcement’s immediate priority is always the welfare of the individual, and to ensure that all vulnerable migrants receive the support and assistance they need regardless of their immigration status. Immigration Enforcement already make decisions on key safeguarding and vulnerability matters such as the Adults at Risk policy and human rights decisions. Both the IECA and the Single Competent Authority (SCA) decision makers receive the same training on National Referral Mechanism (NRM) decision making and consistently apply the statutory guidance for potential victims of modern slavery.

Both competent authorities are held to account through existing quality assurance processes and the Multi-Agency Assurance Panels will continue to quality assure all negative Conclusive Grounds decisions.

The data on decisions taken by the IECA will be set out in the quarterly publication of NRM statistics and a breakdown by competent authority will be published once there is sufficient data to ensure individuals are not identifiable. We will regularly review this data to understand the impact of the change and ensure polices are being applied consistently.

This Government remains committed to identifying victims quickly, enhancing the support they receive and improving the training given to First Responders, who are responsible for referring potential victims into the NRM.

The Home Office has produced e-learning to help First Responders to identify potential victims of modern slavery and make referrals into the NRM when appropriate to do so. The e-learning is available through the Modern Slavery Organised Immigration Crime (MSOIC) website here: https://www.policingslavery.co.uk/transforming-our-response/training-delivery/first-responder-training/ .

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
13th Dec 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she (a) has received and (b) is taking steps in response to advice from Public Health England on the (i) ongoing use of Napier Barracks, (ii) covid-19 outbreak in Napier Barracks and (iii) cases of active TB in Napier Barracks as of 13 December 2021.

We have not received any advice from UK Health Security Agency on the ongoing use of Napier, however we continue to engage with UK Health Security Agency to ensure COVID 19 is a managed effectively on site.

There are no current confirmed cases of active tuberculosis at Napier The one person identified by the NHS was, on the advice of UK Health Security Agency, moved to alternative accommodation on 14 December 21.

13th Dec 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people are accommodated in Napier Barracks who indicated in their asylum screening interview or ASF1 form that they are either a victim of trafficking, a victim of torture or suffering from mental health problems as of 13 December 2021.

All individuals accommodated at Napier meet the suitability criteria. This is assessed via service user’s asylum screening interview, ASF1’s and any supporting evidence submitted by the service user or their representative.

Individuals considered vulnerable under the Asylum Seekers (Reception Conditions) Regulations 2005 regulation 4(3) and/or those who have been referred to the National Referral Mechanism as potential victims of trafficking are not suitable to be accommodated at Napier. Further suitability criteria can be found at: Allocation of accommodation policy Asylum accommodation requests - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Asylum seekers allocated to the accommodation have full access to the advisory services provided by Migrant Help and are able to raise issues about their suitability to be accommodated at the site.

13th Dec 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people in total have been accommodated in Napier Barracks since April 2021.

According to local data held by Clearsprings Ready Homes, 1033 service users have been accommodated at Napier Barracks since 9th of April 2021.

11th Jun 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to publish the equality impact assessment on the repurposing of Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre.

Hassockfield immigration removal centre (IRC) will open as an IRC for women by the autumn. Yarl’s Wood is expected to begin operating as a predominantly male IRC, at a similar time. To ensure that decisions about the development of both sites have due regard to eliminating discrimination and inequality, equality impact assessments (EIAs) will remain ongoing as plans progress to completion. The Home Office will publish both completed EIAs in due course.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
11th Jun 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to publish the equality impact assessment on the opening of the Immigration Removal Centre at the former Hassockfield Secure Training Centre in County Durham.

Hassockfield immigration removal centre (IRC) will open as an IRC for women by the autumn. Yarl’s Wood is expected to begin operating as a predominantly male IRC, at a similar time. To ensure that decisions about the development of both sites have due regard to eliminating discrimination and inequality, equality impact assessments (EIAs) will remain ongoing as plans progress to completion. The Home Office will publish both completed EIAs in due course.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
19th May 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been subject to immigration removal action in Glasgow Central constituency in each month of the last three years.

The only available statistics are ones published on a quarterly basis at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-statistics

Anyone with no right to be in the UK may be subject to removal or deportation action as appropriate.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
22nd Apr 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many payments have been made to victims of modern slavery each year since 2009.

The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) does not publish payments made to victims of modern slavery and this does not currently form part of the published NRM statistics.

All victims who consent to receiving support will receive this via the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (MSVCC) in England and Wales which is delivered by The Salvation Army. Details of the MSVC Contract can be found in a redacted version of the contract requirements here: Modern Slavery: Statutory Guidance for England and Wales (under s49 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015) and Non-Statutory Guidance for Scotland and Northern Ireland (publishing.service.gov.uk)

All victims who consented to support under the previous Victim Care Contract were also eligible for financial support under the same policy and a redacted version of the previous contract requirements can be found here (https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/e03ceb15-27ad-4bad-b8ae-43dbc1e9481e).

As of September 2019, following a CG decision, financial support needs for those in support are considered in a Recovery Needs Assessment (RNA) as part of a holistic assessment of recovery need, as per the published RNA policy.

Victoria Atkins
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
17th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has for providing residents at Penally Barracks with alternative accommodation when it is returned to the Ministry of Defence on 21 March 2021.

Following the announcement on 16 March 2021 of the closure of Penally, the Home Office has been working closely with its accommodation provider Clearsprings Ready Homes (CRH) to ensure all people leaving Penally had safe, suitable, fit for purpose and correctly equipped accommodation to move to on transfer from Penally prior to closure.

15th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the letter from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Immigration Detention of 22 December 2022 on the processing of individuals arriving in the UK on small boats.

With apologies for the delay, a response was issued on 18 March 2021.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
4th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps have been taken following deaths in detention at Morton Hall Immigration Removal Centre to (a) provide detainees who remain at that centre with counselling and other forms of bereavement support and (b) complete ad-hoc assessments and formal reviews of Assessment Care in Detention and Teamwork files.

On 19 February 2021 a man who was detained at Morton Hall immigration removal centre sadly died; the first death in the immigration removal estate since 2019.

The published Home Office Detention Services Order 08/2014 “Death in immigration detention” provides guidance as to the actions that Home Office and contracted supplier staff must take in the event of a death in detention. These actions include notification of the death to appropriate bodies, identifying potential witnesses to the death and supporting the individuals who are in detention. Each death in immigration detention is subject to investigation by the police, the coroner (or Procurator Fiscal in Scotland) and the independent Prisons and Probation Ombudsman. All relevant bodies were informed on 19 February.

In accordance with the guidance, the individual’s family has been informed and a family liaison officer has been assigned. Our thoughts and condolences are with the individual’s family and friends. In parallel, a community notice was issued at Morton Hall to inform residents of the death, the independent investigation and where to access support. In addition to this, ad-hoc assessments were undertaken of all individuals with open, or recently closed, Assessment Care in Detention and Teamwork (ACDT) plans and formal assessments undertaken of those considered particularly vulnerable to the news.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
4th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether detainees at Morton Hall Immigration Removal Centre have been provided with written notice of any deaths of detainees; and if she will place a copy of any such notice in the Library.

On 19 February 2021 a man who was detained at Morton Hall immigration removal centre sadly died; the first death in the immigration removal estate since 2019.

The published Home Office Detention Services Order 08/2014 “Death in immigration detention” provides guidance as to the actions that Home Office and contracted supplier staff must take in the event of a death in detention. These actions include notification of the death to appropriate bodies, identifying potential witnesses to the death and supporting the individuals who are in detention. Each death in immigration detention is subject to investigation by the police, the coroner (or Procurator Fiscal in Scotland) and the independent Prisons and Probation Ombudsman. All relevant bodies were informed on 19 February.

In accordance with the guidance, the individual’s family has been informed and a family liaison officer has been assigned. Our thoughts and condolences are with the individual’s family and friends. In parallel, a community notice was issued at Morton Hall to inform residents of the death, the independent investigation and where to access support. In addition to this, ad-hoc assessments were undertaken of all individuals with open, or recently closed, Assessment Care in Detention and Teamwork (ACDT) plans and formal assessments undertaken of those considered particularly vulnerable to the news.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
4th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to inform (a) the police and (b) the Prison and Probation Ombudsman of deaths at Morton Hall Immigration Removal Centre to ensure a prompt and thorough investigation.

On 19 February 2021 a man who was detained at Morton Hall immigration removal centre sadly died; the first death in the immigration removal estate since 2019.

The published Home Office Detention Services Order 08/2014 “Death in immigration detention” provides guidance as to the actions that Home Office and contracted supplier staff must take in the event of a death in detention. These actions include notification of the death to appropriate bodies, identifying potential witnesses to the death and supporting the individuals who are in detention. Each death in immigration detention is subject to investigation by the police, the coroner (or Procurator Fiscal in Scotland) and the independent Prisons and Probation Ombudsman. All relevant bodies were informed on 19 February.

In accordance with the guidance, the individual’s family has been informed and a family liaison officer has been assigned. Our thoughts and condolences are with the individual’s family and friends. In parallel, a community notice was issued at Morton Hall to inform residents of the death, the independent investigation and where to access support. In addition to this, ad-hoc assessments were undertaken of all individuals with open, or recently closed, Assessment Care in Detention and Teamwork (ACDT) plans and formal assessments undertaken of those considered particularly vulnerable to the news.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
4th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps have been taken to inform relevant next of kin of detainees who have died at Morton Hall Immigration Removal Centre.

On 19 February 2021 a man who was detained at Morton Hall immigration removal centre sadly died; the first death in the immigration removal estate since 2019.

The published Home Office Detention Services Order 08/2014 “Death in immigration detention” provides guidance as to the actions that Home Office and contracted supplier staff must take in the event of a death in detention. These actions include notification of the death to appropriate bodies, identifying potential witnesses to the death and supporting the individuals who are in detention. Each death in immigration detention is subject to investigation by the police, the coroner (or Procurator Fiscal in Scotland) and the independent Prisons and Probation Ombudsman. All relevant bodies were informed on 19 February.

In accordance with the guidance, the individual’s family has been informed and a family liaison officer has been assigned. Our thoughts and condolences are with the individual’s family and friends. In parallel, a community notice was issued at Morton Hall to inform residents of the death, the independent investigation and where to access support. In addition to this, ad-hoc assessments were undertaken of all individuals with open, or recently closed, Assessment Care in Detention and Teamwork (ACDT) plans and formal assessments undertaken of those considered particularly vulnerable to the news.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
4th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many deaths of detainees occurred at Morton Hall Immigration Removal Centre during the period 15 February to 22 February 2021.

On 19 February 2021 a man who was detained at Morton Hall immigration removal centre sadly died; the first death in the immigration removal estate since 2019.

The published Home Office Detention Services Order 08/2014 “Death in immigration detention” provides guidance as to the actions that Home Office and contracted supplier staff must take in the event of a death in detention. These actions include notification of the death to appropriate bodies, identifying potential witnesses to the death and supporting the individuals who are in detention. Each death in immigration detention is subject to investigation by the police, the coroner (or Procurator Fiscal in Scotland) and the independent Prisons and Probation Ombudsman. All relevant bodies were informed on 19 February.

In accordance with the guidance, the individual’s family has been informed and a family liaison officer has been assigned. Our thoughts and condolences are with the individual’s family and friends. In parallel, a community notice was issued at Morton Hall to inform residents of the death, the independent investigation and where to access support. In addition to this, ad-hoc assessments were undertaken of all individuals with open, or recently closed, Assessment Care in Detention and Teamwork (ACDT) plans and formal assessments undertaken of those considered particularly vulnerable to the news.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
23rd Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many temporary worker and equivalent visas have been issued but not taken up in each month of each of the last 10 years.

Home Office Migration Statistics do not capture the number of visas not taken up or used within the time limit as to capture these numbers would require a manual trawl of data, incurring disproportionate cost.

The Home Office does though publish data on the total number of decisions made on visitor visas, spousal visas, family visas and temporary worker visas. These can be found in our published statistics:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-september-2020/how-many-people-come-to-the-uk-each-year-including-visitors

23rd Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many family visas have been issued but not taken up in each month of each of the last 10 years.

Home Office Migration Statistics do not capture the number of visas not taken up or used within the time limit as to capture these numbers would require a manual trawl of data, incurring disproportionate cost.

The Home Office does though publish data on the total number of decisions made on visitor visas, spousal visas, family visas and temporary worker visas. These can be found in our published statistics:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-september-2020/how-many-people-come-to-the-uk-each-year-including-visitors

23rd Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many spousal visas have been issued, but not taken up, in each month in each of the last 10 years.

Home Office Migration Statistics do not capture the number of visas not taken up or used within the time limit as to capture these numbers would require a manual trawl of data, incurring disproportionate cost.

The Home Office does though publish data on the total number of decisions made on visitor visas, spousal visas, family visas and temporary worker visas. These can be found in our published statistics:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-september-2020/how-many-people-come-to-the-uk-each-year-including-visitors

23rd Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visitor visas have been granted but not used within the time limit in each month of each of the last 10 years.

Home Office Migration Statistics do not capture the number of visas not taken up or used within the time limit as to capture these numbers would require a manual trawl of data, incurring disproportionate cost.

The Home Office does though publish data on the total number of decisions made on visitor visas, spousal visas, family visas and temporary worker visas. These can be found in our published statistics:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-september-2020/how-many-people-come-to-the-uk-each-year-including-visitors

23rd Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visitor visas are not taken up because of a death of (a) the applicant or (b) the sponsor.

Home Office Migration Statistics do not capture the number of visas not taken up or used within the time limit as to capture these numbers would require a manual trawl of data, incurring disproportionate cost.

The Home Office does though publish data on the total number of decisions made on visitor visas, spousal visas, family visas and temporary worker visas. These can be found in our published statistics:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-september-2020/how-many-people-come-to-the-uk-each-year-including-visitors

23rd Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions Mears had with the Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership before opening the mother and baby unit at 100 Pollokshaws Road, Glasgow.

The mother and baby unit is a new dedicated facility in Glasgow to support mothers and babies, providing accommodation, along with access to healthcare and other support services, that is purpose designed to best meet their needs.

Mears liaised with Glasgow City Council Health and Social Care Partnership and the local Asylum Health Bridging Team on the development and implementation of the unit, who are fully supportive of this proposal. This was considered via the Glasgow Partnership Board and the Regional Delivery and Procurement Group, which were established for such joint working and communication purposes.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
23rd Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which organisations were consulted and what the consultation process was in advance of opening the mother and baby unit at 100 Pollokshaws Road, Glasgow.

The mother and baby unit is a new dedicated facility in Glasgow to support mothers and babies, providing accommodation, along with access to healthcare and other support services, that is purpose designed to best meet their needs.

Mears liaised with Glasgow City Council Health and Social Care Partnership and the local Asylum Health Bridging Team on the development and implementation of the unit, who are fully supportive of this proposal. This was considered via the Glasgow Partnership Board and the Regional Delivery and Procurement Group, which were established for such joint working and communication purposes.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
23rd Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the consultation process was for opening the mother and baby unit at 100 Pollokshaws Road, Glasgow.

The mother and baby unit is a new dedicated facility in Glasgow to support mothers and babies, providing accommodation, along with access to healthcare and other support services, that is purpose designed to best meet their needs.

Mears liaised with Glasgow City Council Health and Social Care Partnership and the local Asylum Health Bridging Team on the development and implementation of the unit, who are fully supportive of this proposal. This was considered via the Glasgow Partnership Board and the Regional Delivery and Procurement Group, which were established for such joint working and communication purposes.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
23rd Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to reintroduce premium priority visa services.

Priority and Super Priority Visa services are already available in some locations overseas. If available, customers are able to purchase these services when booking an appointment at a visa application centre.

Priority and Super Priority Visas services have been reinstated in the UK for most in-country work and study routes, including applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain. It is anticipated Priority and Super Priority Visa services for Marriage and Settlement routes will be open by the end of March 2021.

All other in-country immigration application routes will continue to offer a standard service at this time.

22nd Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the assessment criteria is for transferring mothers and children to the Mears operated mother and baby unit at 100 Pollokshaws Road, Glasgow.

The mother and baby unit is a new dedicated facility in Glasgow to support mothers and babies, providing accommodation, along with access to healthcare and other support services, that is purpose designed to best meet their needs.

The facility can accommodate 38 young mothers, though currently it is operating at half capacity. The building is used to accommodate new service users where appropriate, or where there are referrals from social workers, the health team or the third sector.

The current residents were moved on the basis that they would have improved privacy and wrap around support as mothers and children. Consideration for transfer included a safeguarding assessment and appraisal of the suitability of their previous accommodation.

There is a dedicated Resident Welfare Manager on site, and they are in close contact with each resident. If the Welfare Manager considers a move out of the dedicated centre is appropriate a move to alternative accommodation can be arranged.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
19th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to her Department's correspondence, reference CTS B2731/11 advising that applications are being processed in date order, how many different queues UKVI is operating; what the length was of each of those queues as of 19 February 2021; and on what date the applications that have been outstanding the longest were submitted.

The Home Office is committed to ensuring that all applications are considered without unnecessary delay. Information on our immigration routes with service standards and whether they have been processed against these standards is available as part of our transparency data, at: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

If an application is deemed complex and expected to take longer than the standard processing timescale, UKVI will write to the customer within the standard processing time and explain what will happen next. The published information on processing times for complex/ non straightforward visa applications is published as part of the Migration Transparency data, available at Migration transparency data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

All asylum claims are carefully considered on their individual merits on the evidence available to the decision maker. We are committed to ensuring that asylum claims are considered without unnecessary delay, so that those who need protection are granted as soon as possible. Although we concentrate on oldest cases there may be reasons where some applications may be prioritised due to a number of factors such as vulnerability. Delays may also occur where we require further information/investigations before a decision can be made on the application.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
30th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the letters of 30 July and 24 August 2020 from the all-party Parliamentary group on immigration detention.

I apologise for the delay in responding to the letters of 30 July and 24 August 2020, the responses to which have now been sent.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
30th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many detainees and staff at (a) Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre and (b) Brook House Immigration Removal Centre have tested positive for covid-19 in the last 60 days.

The Government takes the welfare of staff and detained individuals in its care very seriously. Earlier this year, the High Court ruled that our approach to detention and COVID-19 was sensible, with the appropriate precautionary measures in place. Guidance regarding the principles for managing the detention estate during the COVID-19 pandemic is published on GOV.UK and can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/921491/detention-and-escorting-services-guidance-during-covid-19_v3.0.pdf

Further preventative measures in place include full ‘reverse cohorting’ staffed by dedicated teams, single occupancy rooms and use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Additionally, in response to an increasing rate of infection in the community, as of 21 October, all staff and visitors to IRCs and Short-Term Holding Facilities are required to wear a face mask at all times when in the main centre(s).

For the week commencing 26 October, management information shows that there were 45 individuals detained in an IRC who were considered to be at heightened risk from COVID-19 and had been offered protective isolation (shielding) measures. Individuals can decline the offer of protective isolation measures and change their minds at any subsequent point. The protective isolation or shielding of those detained under immigration powers in prisons is managed by the Ministry of Justice.

All immigration removal centres have dedicated health facilities run by doctors and nurses which are managed by the NHS or appropriate providers. As per the guidance published by Public Health England, any individual with symptoms of COVID-19 will be placed in protective isolation for 7 days. Those individuals who are severely unwell will be transferred to appropriate healthcare facilities with usual escorts and following advice on safe transfers. Appropriate PPE equipment is available to contractor and healthcare staff when interacting with detained individuals being held in isolation.

Since Thursday 3 September to date, management information indicates that 35 individuals in detention have been tested for COVID-19 due to their circumstances (such as being symptomatic). In the same time period, there has been one confirmed case of COVID-19 in an individual who was detained in a Residential Short-Term Holding Facility. The individual was in medical isolation and did not require hospital treatment.

As of 2 November, there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in detained individuals in the immigration detention estate. There have been no deaths in immigration removal centres or short-term holding facilities as a result of COVID-19.

Numbers of staff being tested for COVID-19 is recorded on a weekly basis. Since the week commencing 30 August, 152 members of staff working in the immigration detention estate (supplier staff and healthcare providers) have been tested for COVID-19. Since 3 September, there have been a total of 17 positive COVID-19 tests of Home Office and supplier staff (including healthcare providers) working in the immigration detention estate.

To supplement the preventative measures already in place, the Home Office have begun a program of voluntary COVID-19 testing on induction for individuals arriving at an IRC. Induction testing began at the Heathrow and Gatwick estates from 26 October (those tested on induction are not included in the figures provided above). The induction testing program will be rolled out to other centres in coming weeks.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
30th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many covid-19 tests have been administered to Immigration Removal Centre staff in the last 60 days.

The Government takes the welfare of staff and detained individuals in its care very seriously. Earlier this year, the High Court ruled that our approach to detention and COVID-19 was sensible, with the appropriate precautionary measures in place. Guidance regarding the principles for managing the detention estate during the COVID-19 pandemic is published on GOV.UK and can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/921491/detention-and-escorting-services-guidance-during-covid-19_v3.0.pdf

Further preventative measures in place include full ‘reverse cohorting’ staffed by dedicated teams, single occupancy rooms and use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Additionally, in response to an increasing rate of infection in the community, as of 21 October, all staff and visitors to IRCs and Short-Term Holding Facilities are required to wear a face mask at all times when in the main centre(s).

For the week commencing 26 October, management information shows that there were 45 individuals detained in an IRC who were considered to be at heightened risk from COVID-19 and had been offered protective isolation (shielding) measures. Individuals can decline the offer of protective isolation measures and change their minds at any subsequent point. The protective isolation or shielding of those detained under immigration powers in prisons is managed by the Ministry of Justice.

All immigration removal centres have dedicated health facilities run by doc