Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what policies are in place to ensure the safety of asylum-seeking (a) women and (b) children in asylum accommodation.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Across our estate there is an expectation that there will be mixed cohorts within our accommodation.
Some of our core Initial Accommodation may be configured to provide segregated areas specially for families and singles. Similarly in our Dispersed Accommodation there will be a mix of family properties and Houses of Multiple Occupation that are specifically for either males, females or mothers and babies.
Women with children who are in receipt of support are not required to share sleeping quarters with unrelated individuals of the opposite sex but may depending on the circumstances be placed in accommodation facilities that are used to house such individuals.
The Home Office has published the Asylum Support Contracts Safeguarding Framework at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-support-contracts-safeguarding-framework.
This framework sets out a joint, overarching approach, as well as the key controls and reporting mechanisms in place, across the AASC contracts, for safeguarding arrangements.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department's policy is on alternative accommodation for asylum seekers.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We are committed to ensuring that destitute asylum seekers are housed in safe, habitable, and fit for purpose accommodation, and that they are treated with dignity whilst in our care.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average (a) cost and (b) time taken was for the conclusion of a (i) spousal and (ii) skilled worker visa application in Wales in the most recent period for which data is available.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We do not treat applications for those working or residing in Wales any differently to those residing in the UK and we are in service standard for straightforward cases across the named routes.
Visa fees transparency data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for (a) spousal, and (b) skilled worker visas in Wales were unresolved after (i) six and (ii) eight weeks in the most recent period for which data is available.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We do not treat applications for those working or residing in Wales any differently to those residing in the UK and we are in service standard for straightforward cases across the named routes.
Visa fees transparency data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
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 adherence to service standards in (a) priority service and (b) all skilled worker visa application services in Wales.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We do not treat applications for those working or residing in Wales any differently to those residing in the UK and we are in service standard for straightforward cases across the named routes.
Visa fees transparency data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many skilled worker visa applications surpassed the service standard for conclusion in Wales in the most recent period for which data is available.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We do not treat applications for those working or residing in Wales any differently to those residing in the UK and we are in service standard for straightforward cases across the named routes.
Visa fees transparency data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many stop and searches per 1,000 people by ethnicity were recorded in England in 2021-22.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the ethnicity of people stopped and searched in England and Wales on an annual basis. The latest data are available here: Update to stop and search and arrests statistics using 2021 Census estimates - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Table 1 below shows how many searches per 1,000 people by ethnicity were recorded in England and Wales in 2021-22. Population data used to calculate the rates are from the 2021 Census.
Table 1 – stop and searches per 1,000 people by ethnicity in 2021-22, England and Wales
| Self-defined ethnicity | ||||
| White | Black or Black British | Asian or Asian British | Other Ethnic Group | Mixed |
Rate per 1,000 people - England | 5.5 | 26.7 | 8.8 | 6.7 | 9.3 |
Rate per 1,000 people - Wales | 5.3 | 17.7 | 5.4 | 6.6 | 6.8 |
The Home Office have explored using different denominators to calculate stop and search disparity rates. Within the Metropolitan Police Force area using suspects of violent crime reduced disparity rates for black people from 3.7 to 1.2. Further details are here: Exploration of an alternative approach to calculating stop and search rates in the Metropolitan Police Force Area – Experimental Statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
We continue to work to refine and enhance stop and search statistics, and reflect the fact searches tends to be concentrated in geographical areas with high crime.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many stop and searches per 1,000 people by ethnicity were recorded in Wales in 2021-22.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the ethnicity of people stopped and searched in England and Wales on an annual basis. The latest data are available here: Update to stop and search and arrests statistics using 2021 Census estimates - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Table 1 below shows how many searches per 1,000 people by ethnicity were recorded in England and Wales in 2021-22. Population data used to calculate the rates are from the 2021 Census.
Table 1 – stop and searches per 1,000 people by ethnicity in 2021-22, England and Wales
| Self-defined ethnicity | ||||
| White | Black or Black British | Asian or Asian British | Other Ethnic Group | Mixed |
Rate per 1,000 people - England | 5.5 | 26.7 | 8.8 | 6.7 | 9.3 |
Rate per 1,000 people - Wales | 5.3 | 17.7 | 5.4 | 6.6 | 6.8 |
The Home Office have explored using different denominators to calculate stop and search disparity rates. Within the Metropolitan Police Force area using suspects of violent crime reduced disparity rates for black people from 3.7 to 1.2. Further details are here: Exploration of an alternative approach to calculating stop and search rates in the Metropolitan Police Force Area – Experimental Statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
We continue to work to refine and enhance stop and search statistics, and reflect the fact searches tends to be concentrated in geographical areas with high crime.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who went missing from hotels in England have subsequently been found in Wales since 1 January 2022.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Since 1 Janaury 2022, 283 young persons missing from UASC Hotels have been located.
Two young people have been found in Wales after 1 January 2022 and that proportion would be 0.71%.
These hotels exist to provide temporary accommodation whilst placement within local authority is sought. Young people are supported by team leaders, support workers and security who are all on site 24/7. Further care is provided in hotels by teams of social workers and nurses.
Any missing child case or British child in care and are treated the same way including missing UASC.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied asylum-seeking children have been transferred to each local authority in Wales in each month since the National Transfer Scheme became mandatory.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Ministers made the decision to mandate participation in the National Transfer Scheme (NTS) and directed local authorities in Wales to participate on 14 December 2021.
Mandatory NTS transfers began 14 December 2021, with any transfers since 23 November 2021 counting towards local authorities' allocations under the mandated scheme.
NTS data is published at RASI (Resettlement, Asylum Support and Integration) data: Q1 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The National Transfer Scheme has seen 4,388 children transferred to local authorities between 1 October 2021 and 31 March 2023. Of the 4,388 children transferred in this period, 223 were transferred to local authorities in Wales. It is not possible to split the data into different local authority areas within Wales.
As the data is published quarterly, it is also not possible to split out the number of transfers from a specific date mid quarter. Therefore, some of the 223 children quoted may have been transferred under the voluntary scheme in the weeks prior to when the NTS was mandated (between 1 October 2021 and 23 November 2021).