Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to monitor the compliance of use of predictive policing and risk prediction sytems by police forces with the UK's national and international human rights obligations.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
AI, and other technologies, can provide a wide range of benefits to improve efficiency and productivity in policing, as well as boosting public confidence by improving the prevention, detection and investigation of crime. However, the procurement and deployment of AI technology to assist with forecasting potential areas of crime or disorder, commonly known as ‘predictive policing’, must always be subject to strong safeguards.
The AI Covenant for Policing was agreed at National Police Chiefs Council in September 2023. This provides practical high-level principles that, if followed, will ensure that the police develop and use AI tools that are lawful, transparent, explainable, responsible, accountable and robust. The Home Office has provided funding to support the National Police Chiefs Council AI Portfolio to drive consistency and create guidance for forces to develop and deploy AI tools, and we are undertaking further detailed work in this area. There are a number of essential wider protections in place, including the Public Sector Equality Duty, to ensure that all Government policies take account of the human rights impacts on individuals.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken since July 2024 to implement (a) recommendation 7 and (b) other recommendations of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review, published on 19 July 2018.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This government is determined to put right the appalling injustices caused by the treatment of members of the Windrush community, making sure that those affected receive the compensation they deserve quickly, and ensuring cultural change is embedded permanently into the fabric of the Home Office.
We have established a new Windrush Unit in the department who are undertaking a review of all 30 recommendations in the Windrush Lessons Learned Review. This includes an assessment of the response to Recommendation 7. We will assess how far the department has come and identify those recommendations which require more work.
Last month we also launched the recruitment for a Windrush Commissioner, which marks a vital step in resetting the government’s response to the Home Office Windrush scandal. The Commissioner will serve as an independent advocate for those affected, assure delivery of the Windrush Compensation Scheme and hold the department to account as we learn the lessons of the past to drive improvements.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to increase (a) transparency and (b) accountability in her Department.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Home Office regularly reports on its performance through the annual report and accounts which are published each year on gov.uk and provide a narrative on the finances and performance of the Home Office.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2024 to Question 2952 on Asylum: Temporary Accommodation, what alternative accommodation her Department plans to use to enable a reduction in the use of hotels; and how much funding she plans to provide for this purpose in each of the next three financial years.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Home Office is determined to return to using dispersed asylum accommodation and is working with local authorities and partners to find solutions to provide accommodation for asylum seekers across the entire country which work for everyone. We have a comprehensive funding package for local authorities who help to support asylum seekers in their area.
We are taking immediate action to clear the asylum backlog which will help reduce the use of asylum accommodation and ensure better use of public money.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to fund accommodation for asylum seekers once the use of hotels is stopped.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly, and is reviewing the current arrangements for accommodation to ensure efficiency and value for money, including reducing the use of hotels.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate he has made of when the report of the independent review of political violence and disruption will be published.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The Department is considering Lord Walney’s report carefully, and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people whose application for an award under the Windrush Compensation Scheme has been denied have appealed in each quarter since that scheme was launched.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
Information on the number of Windrush Compensation Scheme claimants, who have requested a review of their full and final decision, is included in the Windrush Compensation Scheme Transparency Data, which is published regularly. However, the publication does not distinguish between reviews requested on the basis of the claim being awarded a zero entitlement decision (denied), or where the claimant is not satisfied with the value offer received.
The latest published data, covering the period up to December 2023, is available here: Windrush Compensation Scheme data: December 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
The relevant page is WCS_09, which contains details of the cumulative number of reviews requested at Tier 1 and Tier 2. Tier 2 reviews are completed by an Independent Adjudicator outside of the Home Office.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has sought legal advice on exiting the European Convention on Human Rights.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Any legal advice received by the Home Office is subject to legal professional privilege and, as such, we do not comment on legal advice that may or may not have been sought or received.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy on re-writing modern slavery rules.
Answered by Sarah Dines
Conversations have taken place at official level between the Home Office and the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) colleagues about the proposed commitment to strengthen Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, which relates to mandatory reporting on Modern Slavery in supply chains by businesses with an annual turnover of £36m or more.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has sought legal advice on the compatibility of making it illegal for people who claim asylum in Britain after arrival by a small boat, with the UK being party to the 1951 Convention on Refugees.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
As my Rt Hon friend the Prime Minister set out in his oral statement on 13 December 2023 (Official Report, column 885-888), the Government will bring forward legislation to make it unambiguously clear that, if you enter the UK illegally, you should not be able to remain here. Instead, you will be detained and promptly returned either to your home country or to a safe country where your asylum claim will be considered.
In the normal way, in preparing the legislation we are seeking legal advice on a variety of issues.