Asked by: Anthony Browne (Conservative - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the criteria used by her Department to assess the cost of providing contingency accommodation for asylum seekers.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The rise in the number of small boat crossings has placed significant pressures on local authorities and the asylum system.
The Home Office is accommodating more than 37,000 asylum seekers in hotels at a cost of £5.6 million a day. The Home Office is working tirelessly, alongside other government departments, to reduce the Government’s dependency on hotels for contingency accommodation through a package of long-term and short-term measures.
All local authority areas in England, Scotland and Wales became an asylum dispersal area by default in April 2022. This is increasing the number of suitable properties that can be procured for destitute asylum seekers across the UK, ensuring a fair spread across the country and reducing our reliance on hotels. We also intend to bring forward a range of alternative sites at reduced cost to hotels.
Asked by: Anthony Browne (Conservative - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has a target date for decommissioning hotel accommodation for asylum seekers.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The rise in the number of small boat crossings has placed significant pressures on local authorities and the asylum system. The use of contingency accommodation is only ever a short-term solution to ensure that we meet our statutory obligation to house destitute asylum seekers.
We are taking a range of steps to reduce our dependency on hotels to support those already in the asylum system. All local authority areas in England, Scotland and Wales became an asylum dispersal area by default in April 2022. This is increasing the number of suitable properties that can be procured for destitute asylum seekers across the UK, ensuring a fair spread across the country and reducing our reliance on hotels.
Asked by: Anthony Browne (Conservative - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential changes in the level of employment in the hotel industry as a result of service changes related to the housing of asylum seekers.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Hotels are under no obligation to contract with our providers. We cannot comment on any changes made to staffing levels as it is up to the hotel owner to deal with these.
Asked by: Anthony Browne (Conservative - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will provide additional funding to (a) local authorities, (b) support services and (c) NHS and healthcare providers for the operation of hotel asylum accommodation in South Cambridgeshire.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Our accommodation providers are experienced and have a strong record of running these types of sites with minimal impact on local communities. All providers have the required policies and procedures in place around security, safeguarding, critical incident management, and health and safety. Security officials and support staff are also on site 24 hours a day and are obliged to immediately report any security incidents to the Home Office. If required, we work with the provider to put additional measures in place.
Asked by: Anthony Browne (Conservative - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has a process for hon Members to forward cases for consideration by her Department under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) commenced on 6th January and will provide up to 20,000 women, children and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK.
The scheme will prioritise those who have assisted UK efforts in Afghanistan and stood up for UK values such as democracy, women’s rights, freedom of speech and rule of law; and vulnerable people such as women and girls at risk, and members of minority groups (including ethnic / religious minorities and LGBT+).
Representations from Members of Parliament have raised the plight of a great number of people from Afghanistan who would wish to relocate to the UK.
These representations have helped to inform the design of the ACRS as a scheme that will help those in need who are particularly vulnerable, including women and children at risk, and minority groups; as well as those who have supported the UK mission in Afghanistan.
All referrals onto the ACRS will be through the three pathways set out in the statement to Parliament of 6 January, which is a fair and equitable way to identify those most in need.
As an additional verification step, we shall check names of eligible British Council and GardaWorld contractors, and Chevening alumni against the names of people referred to us by MPs during the evacuation.
Further detail on the three referral pathways can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/afghan-citizens-resettlement-scheme.
Asked by: Anthony Browne (Conservative - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the process is for notifying her Department of people who are at risk of political persecution in Afghanistan and who are seeking support from the UK Government.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) commenced on 6th January and will provide up to 20,000 women, children and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK.
The scheme will prioritise those who have assisted UK efforts in Afghanistan and stood up for UK values such as democracy, women’s rights, freedom of speech and rule of law; and vulnerable people such as women and girls at risk, and members of minority groups (including ethnic / religious minorities and LGBT+).
Representations from Members of Parliament have raised the plight of a great number of people from Afghanistan who would wish to relocate to the UK.
These representations have helped to inform the design of the ACRS as a scheme that will help those in need who are particularly vulnerable, including women and children at risk, and minority groups; as well as those who have supported the UK mission in Afghanistan.
All referrals onto the ACRS will be through the three pathways set out in the statement to Parliament of 6 January, which is a fair and equitable way to identify those most in need.
As an additional verification step, we shall check names of eligible British Council and GardaWorld contractors, and Chevening alumni against the names of people referred to us by MPs during the evacuation.
Further detail on the three referral pathways can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/afghan-citizens-resettlement-scheme.
Asked by: Anthony Browne (Conservative - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans for a process for hon Members to forward cases for consideration under the third referral pathway of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme when eligibility widens after the first year of operation.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The third referral pathway will focus on those most at risk who supported the UK and international community effort in Afghanistan.
In the first year of this third referral pathway, the Government will offer ACRS places to the most at risk British Council and GardaWorld contractors and Chevening alumni. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will be in touch with those eligible to support them through the next steps. Beyond the first year of the ACRS, we will work with international partners and NGOs to welcome wider groups of Afghans most at risk.
Representations from Members of Parliament have raised the plight of a great number of people from Afghanistan who would wish to relocate to the UK.
These representations have helped to inform the design of the ACRS as a scheme that will help those in need who are particularly vulnerable, including women and children at risk, and minority groups; as well as those who have supported the UK mission in Afghanistan.
All referrals onto the ACRS will be through the three pathways set out in the statement to Parliament of 6 January, which is a fair and equitable way to identify those most in need. As an additional verification step, we shall check names of eligible British Council and GardaWorld contractors, and Chevening alumni against the names of people referred to us by MPs during the evacuation.
Further detail on the three referral pathways can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/afghan-citizens-resettlement-scheme.
Asked by: Anthony Browne (Conservative - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to enable magistrates to issue bans to individuals being on (a) certain lands and (b) county jurisdictions for the duration of the hare coursing season.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government supports the Rural Affairs Strategy, published by the National Police Chiefs’ Council in July 2018, which sets out operational policing priorities in respect of tackling crimes that predominantly affect rural communities.