Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Home Office:
What discussions she has had with Dyfed Powys Police on the cost of policing the asylum seeker accommodation in Penally.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Any police force facing significant additional costs due to unplanned or unexpected events can apply for additional funding from the Police Special Grant. Dyfed Powys Police made an application, and we will be providing them with up to £2.5m of additional funding.
Penally has provided emergency capacity in response to pressures put on the asylum estate during COVID. As pressures have eased, we have decided not to extend emergency planning permission beyond this month.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the (a) Chief Constable and (b) Police and Crime Commissioner on the additional policing costs relating to the Penally asylum seekers' centre in Pembrokeshire.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has worked closely with Dyfed-Powys Police and we have provided £2.5m of funding in relation to the additional costs of policing the site.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of revising the £1.129 million threshold at which police forces can recoup costs for policing centres housing asylum seekers.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
All police forces should have reasonable contingency within their budgets for unplanned or unexpected events, but in some cases we recognise that these events may place force finances under additional pressure, and in those instances the Police and Crime Commissioner may apply for additional funding through the Police Special Grant.
Any force applying for Special Grant funding must meet the criteria set out in the published guidance, including that forces are expected to meet additional costs up to an amount equal to one per cent of their core grant funding.
Special grant guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Home Office:
If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing an independent inquiry into the policing of the miners' strike in 1984-85.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
There are no plans to undertake an assessment of the potential merits of establishing an independent inquiry into the policing of the miners’ strike in 1984-85 in England and Wales.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment his Department has made of the proportionality of the level of fees for GP medical assessments for firearm licenses.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
GPs are asked to provide medical information when a person applies to their local police force for a firearm or shotgun certificate, as police must be satisfied that those in possession of firearms do not pose a danger to public safety. Fees charged by GPs to provide medical information for firearms licensing applications are a matter between the applicant and their GP.
The Government is continuing to engage with police, medical and shooting representatives to ensure that the system for medical checks operates as effectively as possible.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of firearm license applications were refused following medical assessment in the most recent period for which figures are available.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Firearms licensing is an operational matter for police forces and they are not required to provide data to the Home Office about the reasons why individual applications are refused, including on medical grounds.
The police carry out a number of checks to ensure that those in possession of firearms do not pose a danger to public safety, including in relation to medical suitability based on information provided by the applicant’s GP.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Home Office:
If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing an independent inquiry into the policing of the miners' strike in 1984-85.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
There are no plans to undertake an assessment of the potential merits of establishing an independent inquiry into the policing of the miners’ strike in 1984-85 in England and Wales.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people in the constituency of Carmarthen East and Dinefwr have applied for status under the EU Settlement Scheme and have (a) received settled status, (b) been declined, (c) received pre-settled status, and (d) have applications that are unresolved.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
Published information on EU Settlement Scheme applications by region and local authority can be found in the Home Office’s ‘EU Settlement Scheme quarterly statistics’, local authority statistics tables, table EUSS_LA, available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/826752/eu-settlement-scheme-local-authority-statistics-28-august-2018-to-30-june-2019.ods.
Information of EUSS applications concluded by type and UK country can be found in ‘EU Settlement Scheme quarterly statistics’ at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/826751/eu-settlement-scheme-quarterly-statistics-tables-28-august-2018-to-30-june-2019.ods
The latest published information on EU Settlement Scheme applications concluded for the UK can be found in the Home Office’s ‘EU Settlement Scheme monthly statistics’ available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/eu-settlement-scheme-statistics-september-2019. It was noted in this release that, as of 30 September 2019, two applications have been refused on suitability grounds. Of these, one application was refused in August 2019 and one application was refused in September 2019.
The Home Office does not currently publish statistics on EU Settlement Scheme application outcomes by local authority but is committed to publishing more detailed quarterly statistics on the EU Settlement Scheme. Home Office statisticians are currently considering the content of the next quarterly release.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many speeding fines were issued in the (a) North Wales, (b) Dyfed Powys, (c) South Wales and (d) Gwent Police areas in the 2018-19 financial year.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of fixed penalty notices issued for speed limit offences and data for the 2018/19 financial year is due to be published as official statistics in October 2019.
Previous editions of the ‘Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will publish all correspondence and telephone transcripts between the UK Government and the Welsh Government on the terms of reference of the Independent review of drugs.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
My Department is in regular contact with the Welsh Government on a range of policies, including those relating to drugs and the recent drugs review. The correspondence and calls are undertaken on a confidential basis and it would not be appropriate to publish details.