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Written Question
Ask for ANI Scheme: Expenditure
Friday 22nd March 2024

Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the public purse was of the Ask for ANI domestic abuse scheme in 2023.

Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)

The Home Office allocated £243,662 in the financial year 2022/23 and £168,449 in the financial year 2023/24 to Hestia Housing for the delivery of the Ask for ANI scheme.

In the financial year 2022/23, we also allocated £45,323 to develop an e-learning module and accompanying communications assets to complement the launch of the Ask for ANI in Jobcentre and Jobs and Benefits Offices pilot sites.

The Home Office has also commissioned an independent evaluation to understand how the scheme has been implemented across the Jobcentre and Jobs and Benefits Offices pilot sites. This evaluation is yet to be concluded but has so far cost £116,087.


Written Question
Ask for ANI Scheme
Friday 8th March 2024

Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much his Department’s Ask for ANI scheme cost in (a) 2022 and (b) 2023.

Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)

The Home Office allocated £243,662 in the financial year 2022/23 and £168,449 in the financial year 2023/24 to Hestia Housing for the delivery of the Ask for ANI scheme.


Written Question
Offences against Children
Wednesday 19th April 2023

Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many officers her Department plans to employ in the Grooming Gangs Taskforce.

Answered by Sarah Dines

The Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce will help improve how the police investigate child sexual exploitation and protect children from abuse.

The Home Office has made £2.1million available, through the National Police Chiefs Council, to fund the Taskforce, in FY 23/24.

The allocation of resources within the Taskforce is an operational decision, but will include experienced and qualified Review Officers, experienced analysts, and expert Senior Investigating Officers with practical experience of undertaking grooming gang investigations.

The Taskforce with provide practical, expert, on the ground support for forces on all forms of child sexual abuse, with a particular focus on complex and organised child sexual exploitation, including grooming gangs.


Written Question
Passports: Domestic Abuse and Sexual Offences
Thursday 9th March 2023

Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State of 2 March 2023, Official Report, column 950, whether all domestic and sexual violence offenders are considered to pose a high risk of harm; and whether she is taking steps to ensure that convicted perpetrators of domestic and sexual abuse cannot obtain a passport in a new name without the police being consulted.

Answered by Sarah Dines

The Government is determined to ensure the police and other agencies have the tools they need to manage the risk posed by domestic abusers and sex offenders; we are introducing new measures to strengthen protections for victims of these crimes.

Registered sex offenders must notify certain personal details (including their name and intended foreign travel) to the police annually and whenever those details change. Failure to comply is a criminal offence. Additionally, through Sexual Harm Prevention Orders and Sexual Risk Orders a court can place conditions on offenders that pose a risk of sexual harm.

On 20 February, the Home Secretary announced our intention to make offenders sentenced to 12 months or longer for controlling or coercive behaviour eligible for management under Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements. Offenders eligible for MAPPA management are risk assessed and a risk management plan is put in place.

Through the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, we have introduced Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs). DAPOs will be able to impose any requirements the court considers necessary to protect an individual from domestic abuse. Those subject to an order will be required to notify their name and address to the police. DAPOs will be piloted for two years from Spring 2024.

The police may place ‘flags’ with HM Passport Office on offenders deemed to pose a risk to the public, so that if they attempt to change their passport details, the police will be consulted. Following an internal review into offender name changes, some immediate actions are being taken forward, including ensuring that law enforcement agencies are fully utilising existing monitoring tools and information sources, including those provided by HMPO.


Written Question
Slavery
Monday 30th January 2023

Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department spent on subsistence payments for people awaiting a conclusive grounds decision in the National Referral Mechanism for Modern Slavery in financial years (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21, (c) 2021-22 and (d) 2022-23 to date.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The Single Competent Authority (SCA) and the Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority (IECA) are currently recruiting a large number of new decision makers across the UK to increase capacity for NRM decision-making and reduce decision making timescales.

The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) does not publish payments made to victims of modern slavery and this does not currently form part of the published NRM statistics.

All victims who consent to receiving support will receive this via the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (MSVCC) in England and Wales which is delivered by The Salvation Army. Details of the MSVC Contract can be found in a redacted version of the contract requirements here: Modern Slavery: Statutory Guidance for England and Wales (under s49 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015) and Non-Statutory Guidance for Scotland and Northern Ireland (publishing.service.gov.uk)

All victims who consented to support under the previous Victim Care Contract are eligible for financial support under the same policy and a redacted version of the previous contract requirements can be found here: (https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/e03ceb15-27ad-4bad-b8ae-43dbc1e9481e).


Written Question
Slavery
Monday 30th January 2023

Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Home Office spent on employing caseworkers to make conclusive grounds decisions in the National Referral Mechanism in financial years (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21, (c) 2021-22 and (d) 2022-23 to date.

Answered by Sarah Dines

The Single Competent Authority (SCA) and the Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority (IECA) are currently recruiting a large number of new decision makers across the UK to increase capacity for NRM decision-making and reduce decision making timescales.

The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) does not publish payments made to victims of modern slavery and this does not currently form part of the published NRM statistics.

All victims who consent to receiving support will receive this via the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (MSVCC) in England and Wales which is delivered by The Salvation Army. Details of the MSVC Contract can be found in a redacted version of the contract requirements here: Modern Slavery: Statutory Guidance for England and Wales (under s49 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015) and Non-Statutory Guidance for Scotland and Northern Ireland (publishing.service.gov.uk)

All victims who consented to support under the previous Victim Care Contract are eligible for financial support under the same policy and a redacted version of the previous contract requirements can be found here (https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/e03ceb15-27ad-4bad-b8ae-43dbc1e9481e).

As of September 2019, following a CG decision, financial support needs for those in support are considered in a Recovery Needs Assessment (RNA) as part of a holistic assessment of recovery need, as per the published RNA policy.”


Written Question
Slavery: Offences against Children
Monday 16th January 2023

Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2022 to Question 110727 on Slavery, if she will provide an example of what would be considered a piece of information or evidence that is based in fact in a case of child sexual exploitation; and if she will publish the guidance that decision makers use to identify an objective factor.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The updated Reasonable Grounds Guidance is expected to be published on 30 January 2023 as part of the Modern Slavery: Statutory Guidance for England and Wales (under s49 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015) and Non-Statutory Guidance for Scotland and Northern Ireland. This will contain details of what constitutes an objective factor and how decision makers will use the guidance to consider all referrals, including child victims of sexual exploitation.

We also believe that this builds on and simplifies much of the current guidance to ensure decision making at the Reasonable Grounds stage is robust and consistent while still providing scope to consider instances where a referral may be received with very little additional information.


Written Question
Slavery
Monday 16th January 2023

Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2022 to Question 11027 on Slavery, in what way her Department's new guidance and policy on consideration of evidence differ from what happened previously.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The updated Reasonable Grounds Guidance is expected to be published on 30 January 2023 as part of the Modern Slavery: Statutory Guidance for England and Wales (under s49 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015) and Non-Statutory Guidance for Scotland and Northern Ireland. This will contain details of what constitutes an objective factor and how decision makers will use the guidance to consider all referrals, including child victims of sexual exploitation.

We also believe that this builds on and simplifies much of the current guidance to ensure decision making at the Reasonable Grounds stage is robust and consistent while still providing scope to consider instances where a referral may be received with very little additional information.


Written Question
Slavery
Monday 19th December 2022

Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement by the Minister of State for Immigration of 13 December on Update to Modern Slavery Statutory Guidance, HCWS441, what her definition is of objective factors; and how she expects this to affect decisions by case workers.

Answered by Sarah Dines

The updated Reasonable Grounds guidance will mean decision makers now base their assessments on objective factors to determine whether there are reasonable grounds to believe a person is a victim.

An “objective” factor is a piece of information or evidence that is based in fact. This will ensure that decision makers can make timely and robust evidence-backed decisions and that assistance and support are focused on those who most need it.


Written Question
Slavery
Friday 18th November 2022

Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is her Department's target timescale for making a Reasonable Grounds decision in the National Referral Mechanism; and what is the current average wait time for a victim of modern slavery to be given a Reasonable Grounds decision.

Answered by Sarah Dines

The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics regarding the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). These include the average time taken to make a Conclusive Grounds Decision. The latest published NRM statistics can be found here:

National Referral Mechanism statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

As outlined in the Modern Slavery: Statutory Guidance for England and Wales (under s49 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015) and Non-Statutory Guidance for Scotland and Northern Ireland, the expectation is that the Competent Authority will make a Reasonable Grounds decision within five working days, where possible, of the NRM referral being received. There is no target to make a Conclusive Grounds decision within a specific timeframe. A decision can only be made fairly and reasonably once sufficient information has been made available to the Competent Authority for it to complete the decision. When the relevant Competent Authority has received sufficient information for it to complete a decision it should seek to do so as soon as possible but only once a minimum Recovery and Reflection Period has passed, unless the relevant Competent Authority has received a request to delay the decision. The Recovery and Reflection period begins when the relevant competent authority makes a positive Reasonable Grounds decision.

Modern Slavery: statutory guidance for England and Wales (under s49 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015) and non-statutory guidance for Scotland and Northern Ireland (accessible version) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).