Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many suppliers their Department excluded from procurement on the grounds of (a) fraud, (b) corruption and (c) other grounds under the Public Contract Regulations 2015 from 2015 to 2022.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. To obtain the information a manual search through individual records would be required as this is not recorded centrally on departmental systems.
The grounds for the exclusion of bidders from public procurement procedures are set out in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. These rules set out the circumstances in which bidders must, or may, be excluded from a public procurement process.
The Procurement Bill brought forward by this Conservative Government, currently being considered by Parliament, expands the scope of misconduct which can lead to exclusion. We are also increasing the time period within which misconduct can lead to exclusion from 3 years to 5; bringing subsidiary companies into scope of exclusion; and making the rules clearer so that contracting authorities can undertake exclusions with more confidence.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she (a) has or (b) is planning to have a voluntary exit programme for civil servants in her Department.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office do not have any Voluntary Exit Programmes running (a) at the moment and (b) do not have any planned for this year.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department spent on external recruitment consultants in 2021.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not report the information sought to the level of granularity required.
To identify spending on external recruitment consultants specifically from our management systems would require a manual review of all consultancy related transactions. This can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if they will publish a breakdown of the total payments made to civil servants in his Department for relocation costs to government offices outside London in 2021.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office has made no payments to civil servants during 2021 related to relocation costs from London to Government offices in regional areas.
The Home Office Places for Growth Voluntary Relocation package was made available to Home Office business areas on 15th August 2022 and individuals can now apply to relocate from London to designated Places for Growth regional locations.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which police forces in the UK are currently under special measures.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Service (HMICFRS) independently and continuously assesses the efficiency and effectiveness of every police force in England and Wales. Forces are escalated into an enhanced monitoring phase, 'Engage' on the basis of HMI concerns over their ability to address areas of significant and/or longstanding underperformance.
Forces in the engage phase of monitoring attend the Policing Performance Oversight Group (PPOG), comprising senior stakeholders from the College of Policing, Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, National Police Chief’s Council and the Home Office, to provide the constructive support and challenge needed to address those areas of underperformance which are a cause for concern.
Chief Constables of ‘engaged’ forces are expected to present a comprehensive improvement plan to PPOG, which meets regularly to consider the progress being made and to support the force to address the failings identified. Forces are moved back into the ‘Scan’ phase of monitoring only when HMICFRS is satisfied that sufficient and sustained improvement has been made.
Out of 43 forces in England and Wales, there are currently six forces in ‘engage’: Cleveland, Gloucestershire, Greater Manchester, the Metropolitan Police Service, Staffordshire and Wiltshire.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the time taken to complete administrative reviews into EU Settlement Scheme applications.
Answered by Kevin Foster
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department has spent on producing social media videos and graphics for use on ministerial social media accounts since January 2020.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The department employs an in-house social media team whose core responsibility it is to use digital channels to effectively and efficiently increase public awareness and understanding of the work and policies of the department. It is the role of the team to devise strategies and plans, as well as create and distribute digital content, for all Home Office social medial channels, to meet that objective.
Content created by this team regarding Government policies, guidance and announcements is also to be posted from ministerial accounts when necessary - this includes ministerial statements, content from official visits or government announcements.
There is not an incremental cost to the creation of these assets. Like all other communications products, they are funded by the Home Office Communications Directorate staffing budget.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff in her Department are managing ministerial social media accounts as either (a) their primary responsibility or (b) as part of their role.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
We are now in a digital age, where social media and digital communications are an essential part of government, helping inform the public directly about matters which may affect their lives or interests.
In addition to the Civil Service Code, the Government Communications Service offers propriety in digital and social media guidance and is available to discuss questions relating to social media when working with ministers.
The Home Office employs an in-house social media team to use digital channels and create content to communicate departmental policies online. It is often appropriate for content relating to Government policies, guidance and announcements, created by civil servants, to be amplified or posted on other channels including ministers' own social media accounts where this helps drive wider engagement from the public.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what financial support is available for victims of domestic abuse after their abuser has been put into custody in cases where they hold joint assets with their abuser and find themselves solely responsible for mortgage payments and other expenses.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Tackling domestic abuse is a key priority for this Government and we are committed to supporting all victims of this abhorrent crime. Under our landmark Domestic Abuse Act 2021, economic abuse is now recognised in law as part of the statutory definition of domestic abuse - in recognition of the devasting impact in can have on victims’ lives.
In the coming months we will publish a strategy dedicated to tackling domestic abuse, which will seek to transform the whole of society’s response in order to prevent offending, support victims and pursue perpetrators, as well as to strengthen the systems in place needed to deliver these goals.
It is vital that the financial sector is also able to appropriately respond to economic abuse and provide victims with the support they need. In February 2021, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published updated guidance for firms on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers, including specific reference to economic control and abuse when considering what can contribute to an individual’s vulnerability. Financial services should also refer to UK Finance’s updated Financial Abuse Code which aims to increase awareness of economic abuse and sets out how participating banks and building societies should support customers.
In addition, we support and fund organisations that promote awareness of economic abuse, including Surviving Economic Abuse who have received £567,000 of funding between 2018-2022 to increase awareness of economic abuse and support victims.
The Government also offers “Support for Mortgage Interest” (SMI) loans to homeowners in receipt of an income-related benefit to help prevent repossession. The Mortgage Pre-Action Protocol also makes clear that repossession must always be the last resort. As such, it is vital that homeowners who are having trouble paying their mortgage or are worried about meeting payments, make early contact with their lender.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data the Government collects on the relationship between domestic abuse and death by suicide.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Home Office funded the Domestic Homicide and Suspected Victim Suicides Project in 2020. This was led by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the College of Policing and hosted by the Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme to monitor domestic homicides during the pandemic to build our evidence base on domestic homicides and suicides following domestic abuse.
This project is the first-time data on victim suicides has been collected nationally for the Home Office. The Government does not routinely collect data on the relationship between domestic abuse and death by suicide. Official suicide death registrations data is collected and published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) but this does not include information about possible contributory factors in a suicide such as domestic abuse.
The first 12-month Domestic Homicide and Suspected Victim Suicides Project Domestic Homicides and Suspected Victim Suicides During the Covid-19 Pandemic 2020-2021 (publishing.service.gov.uk) report was published on 25 August 2021 and includes some limited information on suspected suicides of individuals with a known history of domestic abuse victimisation. We continue to fund the project, which is now in its second year.
In addition to this, Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs) must be considered for all deaths involving a person over the age of 16 where domestic abuse has, or appears to have been a factor. This includes deaths by suicides. We are undertaking a project to create a central repository for all DHRs which will allow us to better understand the patterns and trends of domestic homicides and suicides of individuals with a known history of domestic abuse victimisation.