Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many asylum seekers were detained on (1) 30 April, and (2) the same day in each of the previous three months.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office publishes statistics on people in detention in the 'Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release', which can be found on Gov.uk. The number of people in detention at the end of each year is broken down by asylum and non-asylum in table Det_01, of the ‘Detention summary tables’, which can also be found attached. The latest data goes up to the end of December 2021. Data for January to March 2022 will be published on the 26 May 2022.
Asylum-related cases refer to those where there has been an asylum claim at some stage prior or during detention. This will include asylum seekers whose asylum claims have been refused, and who have exhausted any rights of appeal, those retuned under third country provisions, as well as those granted asylum/protection, but detained for other reasons (such as criminality).
Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that individual asylum seekers are not detained if there is no evidence that the individual presents a reasonable suspicion of danger to national security.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office does not detain anyone in temporary asylum accommodation. Our accommodation providers do not have enforcement powers and those we are accommodating are free to come and go as they please. However,detention is an essential part of effective immigration control and is used to ensure that those with no right to remain in the UK are returned to their home country if they will not leave voluntarily. Migrants, including asylum claimants, may be detained for immigration purposes only in accordance with Home Office policy, as set out in the Detention General Guidance and the Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention policy.
The published detention policy makes it clear that detention must only be used when necessary, and for the shortest possible period. There is a presumption in favour of liberty for any person. We only detain people where removal is a realistic prospect within a reasonable timeframe, or initially to establish their identity or basis of claim. This is set out in both legislation and domestic caselaw and we are held to account on this by the courts, and by a series of safeguards that ensure proper scrutiny of decisions to detain, and on-going detention. Due to the complex range of factors involved, the suitability of detention must be appraised on a case by case basis. Once a person is in detention, regular reviews are undertaken to ensure that their detention remains lawful, appropriate, and proportionate. All asylum claims are considered as quickly as possible and enforcement action is taken once any claims have been considered and refused, and once any appeal rights have been exhausted.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average cost of (1) detaining an asylum seeker in custody, and (2) providing them with social housing in the community.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office does not detain anyone in temporary asylum accommodation. Our accommodation providers do not have enforcement powers and those we are accommodating are free to come and go as they please.
Information on the average cost per night to hold an individual in immigration detention can be found at Migration transparency data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). As at Quarter 4 2021, the average cost per night to hold an individual in immigration detention was £101.61.
The total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ho-annual-reports-and-accounts(opens in a new tab).
We do not publish a breakdown of costs of our accommodation & support contracts by location or property type as such detail is considered commercially sensitive.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) advice, and (2) training, they give to public servants dealing with asylum seekers who have family living in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Public servants, including asylum decision making staff, give careful consideration of the protection needs by assessing all the evidence provided by the claimant.
All case working staff receive extensive training on considering asylum claims through our foundation training programme and must follow published Home Office policy guidance when making decisions. The training and guidance cover topics on dependents applying for asylum, child dependents and family asylum claims including those for family and private life.
In addition, an information leaflet is issued to asylum claimants at the point of claim which outlines the asylum process and the claimant’s responsibilities within that process. This information leaflet is periodically reviewed.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, how many cases were reported to the police in (1) England, and (2) Wales, involving assaults and sexual offences by (a) trans individuals, and (b) police officers, in (i) 2019, (ii) 2020, and (iii) 2021.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office does not hold information on the number of assaults or sexual offences reported to the police where the suspect was a transgender individual or a police officer.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many police officers with criminal records for indictable offences are currently serving in each of the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales, and in the British Transport Police.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office does not hold data on police officers with criminal records for indicatable offences whom are currently serving in the 43 territorial forces in England & Wales and the British Transport Police.
In carrying out recruitment of officers and staff, forces must abide by the College of Policing’s statutory code of practice on vetting, which includes further detail on consideration of convictions and cautions. This is further supported by the College’s vetting Authorised Professional Practice (APP) guidance, which is reviewed regularly. Decisions on recruitment are made independently, and on a case-by-case basis, by each force.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to invite the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation to report to the Home Secretary upon the options and possible solutions for dealing with cases of minors who wish to return to the UK from territories formerly held by Daesh, and who may hold nationality of both the UK and another country, where (1) a country refuses to admit the individual concerned, and (2) such a minor is at risk of capital punishment, torture or inhuman or degrading treatment.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government is aware that there are British national minors in Internally Displaced Persons camps in Syria, and we continue to work at pace with our international partners on these issues. The Government has no current plans to ask the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation to report on this topic.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the structure of the territorial police forces in England and Wales, in particular regard to (1) the standard of performance, (2) public satisfaction, and (3) ensuring that the full range of expert services, subject to a proportionate and necessary senior command structure, is available throughout the country.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government has no current plans to review the structure of territorial police forces in England and Wales.
More can be done within the current organisational and leadership structures to improve police performance and ensure services meet public expectations.
The Government supports HMICFRS’ ongoing assessments of forces, measuring performance and identifying areas to improve. Through the Police Transformation Fund we have also supported collaboration arrangements, for example, via the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Specialist Capabilities Programme which is developing new approaches for the provision of specialist capabilities across police force boundaries to tackle a range of criminality.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to announce who will be conducting the independent review of the Prevent counter-extremism programme; and what will be the review’s (1) terms of reference, and (2) timescale for reporting.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Work is underway to appoint the Independent Reviewer of the Prevent Strategy, define the Terms of Reference for the Review, and to recruit a secretariat to support this work.
The aim is to inform the House of the arrangements for the Review, including the Reviewer and the Terms of Reference, by 12 August 2019, as required by the Counter Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019. The final report, recommendations and the Government response are due by August 2020.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to introducing legislation to ban the practice of breast ironing.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Breast ironing is child abuse and it is illegal. The Government is committed to challenging the cultural attitudes that underpin so called ‘honour-based’ abuse (HBA), as set out in our cross-Government Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy. No one should suffer because of who they are or which community they are born into.
In addition, the following documents provide advice and support for professionals in respect of safeguarding children from abuse, including HBA:
• Keeping Children Safe in Education (p.80-82): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2
• Working Together to Safeguard Children: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2
• CPS Legal Guidance on Honour-Based Violence and Forced Marriage:https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/honour-based-violence-and-forced-marriage
Border Force officers at UK ports and airports are trained to look for those at risk of HBA. Border Force conducts regular joint operations (‘Operation Limelight’) with the police at airports across the country to raise awareness with potential victims of HBA, including breast ironing.
While there is no specific offence of breast ironing, the police have a range of other offences at their disposal to deal with any cases they encounter. This includes offences of common assault, actual bodily harm or grievous bodily harm. There are also specific offences of child cruelty and causing or allowing a child to suffer serious physical harm, both of which carry a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment.