Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department spent on social media advertising in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021 and (d) 2022 up to and including 28 February; and on which platforms that money was spent.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Digital advertising is a cost-effective way for the government to recruit nurses, promote blood donations, find out about pensions and all the other important information the public needs to be aware of. The Home Office has used social media as one of many channels and approaches to deliver crime prevention and public awareness communications campaigns. For example, social media adverts have been successfully used as part of police recruitment campaigns as a way to reach a diverse audience raising awareness, relevance and consideration of a career in the police.
The Home Office has spent £6,013,011 on promoted activity across a variety of social media platforms since January 2019.
The table below sets out the Home Office’s spend on social media advertising by year and company through media buying agency Manning Gottlieb OMD since January 2019 until 28 February 2022.
2019 | |
Supplier Name | Sum of Client Cost (Curr) |
FACEBOOK/INSTAGRAM | £888,807.00 |
LINKEDIN IRELAND LIMITED (GBP) | £43,606.00 |
SNAPCHAT | £254,310.00 |
TWITTER UK LTD | £221,701.00 |
2020 | |
Supplier Name | Sum of Client Cost (Curr) |
FACEBOOK/INSTAGRAM | £1,635,297.00 |
LINKEDIN IRELAND LIMITED (GBP) | £108,856.00 |
SNAPCHAT | £95,858.00 |
TWITTER UK LTD | £265,814.00 |
£17,282.00 | |
| FY 19 20 |
2021 | |
Supplier Name | Sum of Client Cost (Curr) |
FACEBOOK/INSTAGRAM | £1,393.832.00 |
LINKEDIN IRELAND LIMITED (GBP) | £122,427.00 |
SNAPCHAT | £206,584.00 |
TWITTER UK LTD | £181,982.00 |
£29,830.00 | |
| FY 19 20 |
2022 | |
Supplier Name | Sum of Client Cost (Curr) |
FACEBOOK/INSTAGRAM | £181,336.00 |
LINKEDIN IRELAND LIMITED (GBP) | £6,042.00 |
SNAPCHAT | £48,850.00 |
TWITTER UK LTD | £85,805.00 |
£1,967.00 | |
REDDIT INC (GBP) | £5,836.00 |
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much his Department has spent on producing social media videos and graphics for use on ministerial social media accounts since January 2020.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
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: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the implications for her visa and immigration policies of the shortage in the UK of specific skills needed to tackle the ongoing avian influenza outbreak.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Our Points Based System already caters for a wide variety of skilled roles across many sectors, including in relation to poultry keeping and veterinary roles, which the independent Migration Advisory Committee has said strikes a reasonable balance between controlling migration and providing firms with the ability to attract the people they need.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the (a) behaviour and (b) alleged use of force by police in response to the vigil for Sarah Everard in London and demonstrations in Bristol against the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill in March 2021.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government fully supports the public’s right to peaceful protest. However, those rights do not extend to violent or threatening behaviour and the police have powers to deal with any such acts.
The management of demonstrations and the use of the powers available is an operational matter for the police, who take decisions based on the circumstances they are faced with on the ground.
Police put themselves in harm’s way to defend us and the use of force is a vital part of their powers. However, the Government is also clear that all use of force must be lawful, proportionate and reasonable in the circumstances and subject to proper scrutiny.
Following the events on Clapham Common, the Home Secretary asked Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) to conduct a full, independent lessons learned review. The report was published on 30 March and concluded that whilst the vast majority of attendees were peaceful and respectful; severe provocations in the evening by a minority of those present warranted the proportionate enforcement actions taken by the police.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference the finding in the University of Central Lancashire report entitled Minimising firefighters’ exposure to toxic fire effluents: Interim Best Practice Report, published in November 2020, that exposure to high levels of toxic contaminants increased cancer among firefighters, if she will take steps to improve indoor air quality in fire stations.
Answered by James Brokenshire
Responsibility for health and wellbeing of firefighters rests with Fire and Rescue Authorities as employers. This includes working conditions inside fire stations. There are strict requirements for decontamination of personal protective equipment following incidents which should always be followed.
The National Fire Chiefs’ Council’s (NFCC) Health and Wellbeing lead, has established a health and wellbeing board to drive positive change across the sector which focuses on prevention, early intervention and support for individuals. The Home Office are supporting these initiatives.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference the report by the University of Central Lancashire entitled Minimising firefighters’ exposure to toxic fire effluents: Interim Best Practice Report, published in November 2020 and the finding in that report that exposure to high levels of toxic contaminants increased cancer among firefighters, if he will meet with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to discuss steps to improve Government guidance on indoor air quality in public sector buildings.
Answered by James Brokenshire
Responsibility for health and wellbeing of firefighters rests with Fire and Rescue Authorities as employers. This includes working conditions inside fire stations. There are strict requirements for decontamination of personal protective equipment following incidents which should always be followed.
The National Fire Chiefs’ Council’s (NFCC) Health and Wellbeing lead, has established a health and wellbeing board to drive positive change across the sector which focuses on prevention, early intervention and support for individuals. The Home Office are supporting these initiatives.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to remove upholstered furniture, carpets and curtains in UK (a) hotels, (b) care homes, (c) hospitals and (d) other non-domestic properties that still contain the flame retardant chemical DecaBDE since that chemical was banned under REACH in March 2019.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the FSO) is the legislation covering fire safety in non-domestic premises in England and Wales.? The FSO requires the person responsible for the premises to undertake a fire risk assessment of the premises and put in place and maintain adequate fire protection measures to reduce the risk to life from fire to as low as reasonably practicable.
The FSO does not prescribe the levels of flame-retardant chemicals used in products. Product safety comes under the Office of Product Safety and Standards, which is the body responsible for the regulations that apply to furniture and furnishings.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Home Department, what steps she has taken to reduce the levels of flame retardant chemicals used in furniture, carpets, curtains and other product in non-domestic properties in order to meet the requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the FSO) is the legislation covering fire safety in non-domestic premises in England and Wales. The FSO requires the person responsible for the premises to undertake a fire risk assessment of the premises and put in place and maintain adequate fire protection measures to reduce the risk to life from fire to as low as reasonably practicable.
The FSO does not prescribe fire protection measures, nor the levels of flame-retardant chemicals used in products present. The particular measures and their properties is a matter for the responsible person.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the (a) Secretary of State Health and Social Care and (b) Secretary of State for Education on the effect of witnessing domestic abuse on the development of children’s speech, language and communication skills.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Domestic abuse has a devastating impact on children and young people. Growing up in a household of fear and intimidation can impact their health, wellbeing and development, with lasting effects into adulthood.
The Home Office liaises regularly with the Department for Health and Social Care and the Department for Education on safeguarding issues and the provision of appropriate support services to victims of domestic abuse. It is recognised that early speech and language is an important protective factor for child health and development.
The Domestic Abuse Commissioner is responsible for assessing, monitoring and publishing information about the provision of services for victims and survivors. This will include speech, language and communication therapy, amongst other services.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the (a) Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and (b) Secretary of State for Education on the role of speech and language therapists in supporting (i) adults and (ii) children who have experienced domestic abuse.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Domestic abuse has a devastating impact on children and young people. Growing up in a household of fear and intimidation can impact their health, wellbeing and development, with lasting effects into adulthood.
The Home Office liaises regularly with the Department for Health and Social Care and the Department for Education on safeguarding issues and the provision of appropriate support services to victims of domestic abuse. It is recognised that early speech and language is an important protective factor for child health and development.
The Domestic Abuse Commissioner is responsible for assessing, monitoring and publishing information about the provision of services for victims and survivors. This will include speech, language and communication therapy, amongst other services.