Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the cost to the police service in (a) England and (b) Wales of the increase in Employers' National Insurance Contributions.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
On 12 December, the PSC issued a circular stating that it has agreed to the deletion of the lowest pay point (£23,286) on the PSC Pay Spine with effect from 1 April 2025. This is to reflect that the increase in the National Living Wage, which will take effect on 1 April 2025, and will result in a rate of £12.21 per hour which will equate to £23,555 and which would be above the lowest pay point on the PSC pay spine. https://www.local.gov.uk/our-support/workforce-and-hr-support/police/police-staff/police-staff-council-circulars/psc-joint-8
We announced the provisional police funding settlement for 2025-26 on 17 December. This includes additional funding of £230.3 million to cover the costs to the police for additional employer’s National Insurance contributions.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the cost to the police service in (a) England and (b) Wales of the increase in minimum wage.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
On 12 December, the PSC issued a circular stating that it has agreed to the deletion of the lowest pay point (£23,286) on the PSC Pay Spine with effect from 1 April 2025. This is to reflect that the increase in the National Living Wage, which will take effect on 1 April 2025, and will result in a rate of £12.21 per hour which will equate to £23,555 and which would be above the lowest pay point on the PSC pay spine. https://www.local.gov.uk/our-support/workforce-and-hr-support/police/police-staff/police-staff-council-circulars/psc-joint-8
We announced the provisional police funding settlement for 2025-26 on 17 December. This includes additional funding of £230.3 million to cover the costs to the police for additional employer’s National Insurance contributions.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has undertaken background checks on the asylum seekers accommodated at the Cresta Court Hotel in Altrincham.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
For the safety, security and wellbeing of staff and those being accommodated, the Home Office does not comment publicly on individual accommodation sites.
When a person claims asylum, the Home Office conducts mandatory identity and security checks. Biographic and biometric data are checked against relevant Home Office systems and police criminality databases including domestic and international data.
Data on the number of asylum seekers in receipt of support by nationality, support type, accommodation type, and UK region can be found within the Asy_D09 tab for our most recent stats release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab) (opens in a new tab).
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the nationalities are of immigrants accommodated in the Cresta Court Hotel in Altrincham.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
For the safety, security and wellbeing of staff and those being accommodated, the Home Office does not comment publicly on individual accommodation sites.
When a person claims asylum, the Home Office conducts mandatory identity and security checks. Biographic and biometric data are checked against relevant Home Office systems and police criminality databases including domestic and international data.
Data on the number of asylum seekers in receipt of support by nationality, support type, accommodation type, and UK region can be found within the Asy_D09 tab for our most recent stats release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab) (opens in a new tab).
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has produced for UK Visas and Immigration caseworkers on handling requests to escalate delayed applications on the skilled worker route; and what information her Department has published on that process.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
All applications are decided on a case-by-case basis taking into account all relevant compassionate circumstances. There may be some cases that cannot be resolved within the published service standard, due to missing information, or a suitability issue that needs investigating, amongst other reasons. However, the majority of applications are concluded quickly and there are no systemic delays in the route.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of (a) the average length of time for a Skilled Worker visa application from outside the UK to be approved and (b) the number of applications for a Skilled Worker visa that have been delayed because a certificate of sponsorship from the applicant's employer has expired.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
The Home Office does not routinely publish data on the average time to process visa applications or on application processing delays caused by expired certificates of sponsorship (COS). Provided the application was submitted before the expiry of the certificate of sponsorship (COS), this should not cause any delay.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme to 9 months.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
The Government currently has no plans to extend the maximum visa grant for Seasonal Worker route beyond the existing six months or to transition the route a five-year rolling programme.
The Government keeps the Seasonal Worker routes under ongoing review.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Scheme to a five-year rolling programme.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
The Government currently has no plans to extend the maximum visa grant for Seasonal Worker route beyond the existing six months or to transition the route a five-year rolling programme.
The Government keeps the Seasonal Worker routes under ongoing review.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she is taking steps to amend the Seasonal Workers visa scheme to help increase the potential supply of labour in the agricultural sector.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
The Seasonal Worker route was extended into this year, with 38,000 visas available, to support our farmers growing fruit and vegetables as they adapt to changes in the UK labour market. The Government is keeping the position under close review and I hope to say more on this matter in due course.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason the Seasonal Workers visa scheme does not include ornamental crop growers.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
The Seasonal Worker route already enables growers in the UK ornamental horticulture sector to recruit seasonal workers. This provision was implemented on 1 January 2022.