Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it remains his Department's policy to end the criminalisation of rough sleeping.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Nobody should be criminalised for simply having nowhere to live. That is why we are committed to bringing into force the repeal of the outdated Vagrancy Act 1824.
We have tabled amendments for Report stage of the Bill which will bring the Repeal of the Vagrancy Act into force three months after the Criminal Justice Bill receives Royal Assent.
At this same time, the provisions on nuisance begging and nuisance rough sleeping in the Criminal Justice Bill will also come into force.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of access to defibrillators.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
To improve survival rates for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest cases, the Government launched a new £1 million one-off fund that will expand community access to Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs). The grant was made available from September 2023.
We estimated 1,000 new defibrillators would be provided by the fund, with the potential for this to double, as most applicants would be asked to match the funding they receive partially or fully. To date, the grant has successfully delivered 2,000 AEDs.
Research has shown that those in the most deprived areas of England had to travel over one kilometre to their nearest accessible, nonstop service public access defibrillator, which tended to be 99.2 metres further away than in the least deprived areas.
Applications for AEDs are selected in line with criteria to provide AEDs where there is greatest need. The criteria include remote communities with extended ambulance response times, places with high footfall and high population densities, hotspots for cardiac arrest including sporting venues and venues with vulnerable people, and deprived areas.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time is for a fee waiver application decision; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of those waiting times on people without leave to remain.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
Please find published transparency data regarding consideration times for fee waivers in relation to permission to stay here: Immigration and protection data: Q4 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Where a fee waiver application is submitted in relation to a subsequent application for permission to stay, while the applicant still has valid permission, and that permission expires while the fee waiver application is outstanding, section 3C of the 1971 Immigration Act will automatically extend the person’s permission while the fee waiver and linked application are still pending.
In the case of applicants where there is evidence of significant vulnerability, for example homeless individuals, the department makes efforts to prioritise consideration of their fee waiver application to support resolution of status.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the longest waiting time is for a decision on a British citizenship application as of 13 May 2024.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases. Published data regarding naturalisation applications can be found in the migration statistics which are published quarterly: Visas and citizenship data: Q4 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Repeal of the Vagrancy Act 1824: Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 factsheet, updated on 20 August 2022, whether he plans to repeal the Vagrancy Act 1824 once the Criminal Justice Bill is passed.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Nobody should be criminalised for simply being having nowhere to live. That is why we are committed to bringing into force the repeal of the outdated Vagrancy Act 1824.
We have tabled amendments for Report stage of the Bill which will bring the Repeal of the Vagrancy Act into force three months after the Criminal Justice Bill receives Royal Assent.
At this same time, the provisions on nuisance begging and nuisance rough sleeping in the Criminal Justice Bill will also come into force.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the number of local staff of the British Embassy in Khartoum who have been resettled in the UK in the last three years.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The Home Office do not hold this information.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) do not hold central data of anyone who has resettled in the UK as they would have done so on their own accord. The FCDO has not facilitated any resettlement of Sudanese CBS to the UK in the last 3 years.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has had recent discussions he has had with (a) the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) and (b) United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) on (i) getting aid into and (ii) the distribution of aid within Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We are working to get aid in as quickly as possible by land, sea and air, working with multiple implementing partners including various UN agencies and international and UK NGOs. UK funding has supported the work of partners including the British Red Cross, World Food Programme, UNICEF and Egyptian Red Crescent Society (ERCS) to deliver vital supplies.
The Foreign Secretary has also appointed a Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, who is working intensively to address the blockages preventing more aid reaching Gaza. He maintains regular contact with the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment on the potential impact of increased service charges on (a) leaseholders and (b) local authorities in Oxfordshire.
Answered by Lee Rowley
Service charges should be transparent, reasonable and there should be a clear route to challenge or redress if things go wrong and the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill will help make this reality.
The Government has set out its position on leasehold reform as part of progress on the Leasehold and Freehold reform Bill. Full details of the measures can be found here: Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will take steps to ensure low income households can appeal increased service charges.
Answered by Lee Rowley
Service charges should be transparent, reasonable and there should be a clear route to challenge or redress if things go wrong and the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill will help make this reality.
The Government has set out its position on leasehold reform as part of progress on the Leasehold and Freehold reform Bill. Full details of the measures can be found here: Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what estimate his Department has made of the value of assets and entities held in the UK by supporters and enablers of the Israeli settler movement.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The FCDO has not made such an estimate.
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation publishes information on assets frozen in the UK within its Annual Review. This document is available from GOV.UK.
The UK continues to take a strong stance against settler violence. On 3 May, the Foreign Secretary announced new sanctions on extremist groups and individuals for inciting and perpetrating settler violence in the West Bank. The measures impose financial restrictions on the entities and individuals, and travel restrictions on the individuals.