Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the impact of Operation Nexus on tackling offending by foreign nationals; and how many people were arrested for immigration offences as part of Operation Nexus in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
‘Operation Nexus’, introduced in September 2012, was a business management mechanism intended to maximise intelligence, information and worldwide links in relation to Foreign National Offenders (FNOs). The mechanism was used to manage and respond to ‘high-harm’ FNOs, to reduce the threat to the public, and to identify individuals with no leave to remain and liable to removal from the UK. Operation Nexus was a partnership between Home Office Immigration Enforcement and the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).
Nexus formally ended in 2019/2020. However, the Home Office continues to work with Law Enforcement Engagement Teams, Immigration Intelligence, Regional Organised Crime Units and the International Crime and Co-ordination Centre in relation to serious harm referrals and to communicate key messages around FNOs.
Home Office publishes information on returns from the UK, including returns of FNOs.
This can be found at the following link: Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many serving police officers failed their first attempt at the Police Written Exercise.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold this information.
The College of Policing, as the professional body for policing, sets recruitment standards and maintains the national application, assessment and selection framework for police recruit roles.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of school age children linked with knife crime in (a) the UK and (b) Dudley North constituency.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
This Government is determined to turn the tide on knife crime in all areas, wherever it occurs.
Through the Serious Violence Fund (SVF), the Home Office has invested a total of £242 million over three years in the 18 police force areas most affected by serious violence. Over three years £105.5 million of the SVF has been invested in multi-agency Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) in the 18 areas, with £10,110,000 allocated to the West Midlands PCC to develop the West Midlands VRU. VRUs bring together police, local government, health and education professionals, community leaders and other key partners to identify the local drivers of serious violence and agree a multi-agency response to them. The remaining £136.5 million of the SVF has been allocated to the same 18 police forces to fund a surge in police operational activity. West Midlands Police have been allocated £15,541,485.00 of this funding.
In addition to the Serious Violence Fund, we have invested £200 million in early intervention and prevention support initiatives over 10 years to support children and young people at risk of exploitation and involvement in serious violence, through the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF). Moreover, this government has awarded an extra £5 million towards the expedited development of a national Centre of Excellence (CofE) to help guide government investment and national policies. In total, 12 grantees in the West Midlands are in receipt of funding from all grant rounds.
Through the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts bill, we have also introduced legislation which will place new duties on a range of specified agencies across different sectors, such as local government, youth offending, and health and probation, to work collaboratively, share data and information, and put in place plans to prevent and reduce serious violence.
In the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 we have introduced specific measures to address knife crime, including the introduction of Knife Crime Prevention Orders to help the police target those most at risk of being drawn into serious violence, to set them on a more positive path.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to deliver civil service jobs in her Department to Dudley North constituency.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office employs Civil Servants across the UK and is already a major employer in many communities outside of London.
The Home Office intends to go beyond the conventional Government footprint and size to identify appropriate locations where we could locate future job opportunities. This will further enhance representation within the Home Office of the communities we serve and support economic growth across the UK.
Our long-term plans are being developed and we will share them in due course.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department spent on the provision of accommodation for asylum seekers in (a) hotels and (b) other forms of accommodation for the financial year 2020-21; and how many asylum seekers have been so housed as a result of that provision.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
We expect the highest standards from our providers and the accommodation provided must be safe, habitable, fit for purpose and is required to comply with the Decent Homes Standard, in addition to standards outlined in relevant national or local housing legislation.
Providers are expected to conduct regular checks across the accommodation estate with the Home Office having access to their systems. Throughout the pandemic the ability to inspect accommodation has faced some challenges; ensuring that we protect the safety of our staff and the people we support adhering to PHE guidance; whilst maintaining safe, habitable, fit for purpose accommodation.
We receive regular intel from calls to our AIRE (Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility) providers Migrant Help. Service Users can raise issues relating to accommodation through the Issue Reporting service provided by Migrant Help.
The Asylum Accommodation and Support Services contracts (AASC) have a robust performance management system, against which providers are expected to deliver. Where performance falls short of the required standard, failures are recorded and can result in the award of points and, ultimately, service credits being applied.
Providers’ performance is monitored closely by dedicated staff in each contract area, who are in daily contact with them. This is supplemented by a formal governance process which includes quarterly Strategic Review Management Boards and monthly Contract Management Groups. Service credits and subsequent improvement plans are discussed and monitored as part of this process.
The current global pandemic has presented us with significant challenges when it comes to the provision of asylum accommodation, including sourcing sufficient suitable accommodation to meet demand.
The use of hotels and wider government facilities are a short-term measure and we are working to move people to longer-term dispersal accommodation as soon as it becomes available.
The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area, which includes those in hotel and wider government facilities. These statistics can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets#asylum-support.
The Home Office does not publish a breakdown of these statistics which disaggregates the type of accommodation being used to accommodate asylum seekers.
As described above, accommodation for supported asylum seekers is arranged by private sector providers through contractual arrangements with the Home Office. Details of these contracts can be found here https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search/Results
Accommodation costs are considered to be commercially confidential, therefore the Home Office does not published this information, however 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
The AASC providers receive payments for providing services consistent with those requirements.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department has spent on agencies sourcing the provision of hotel and other accommodation for asylum seekers in the financial year 2020-21; what the durations are of her Department's contracts with each of those agencies; what the renewal dates are of each of those contracts; and what the procurement processes were for each of those contracts.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
We expect the highest standards from our providers and the accommodation provided must be safe, habitable, fit for purpose and is required to comply with the Decent Homes Standard, in addition to standards outlined in relevant national or local housing legislation.
Providers are expected to conduct regular checks across the accommodation estate with the Home Office having access to their systems. Throughout the pandemic the ability to inspect accommodation has faced some challenges; ensuring that we protect the safety of our staff and the people we support adhering to PHE guidance; whilst maintaining safe, habitable, fit for purpose accommodation.
We receive regular intel from calls to our AIRE (Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility) providers Migrant Help. Service Users can raise issues relating to accommodation through the Issue Reporting service provided by Migrant Help.
The Asylum Accommodation and Support Services contracts (AASC) have a robust performance management system, against which providers are expected to deliver. Where performance falls short of the required standard, failures are recorded and can result in the award of points and, ultimately, service credits being applied.
Providers’ performance is monitored closely by dedicated staff in each contract area, who are in daily contact with them. This is supplemented by a formal governance process which includes quarterly Strategic Review Management Boards and monthly Contract Management Groups. Service credits and subsequent improvement plans are discussed and monitored as part of this process.
The current global pandemic has presented us with significant challenges when it comes to the provision of asylum accommodation, including sourcing sufficient suitable accommodation to meet demand.
The use of hotels and wider government facilities are a short-term measure and we are working to move people to longer-term dispersal accommodation as soon as it becomes available.
The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area, which includes those in hotel and wider government facilities. These statistics can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets#asylum-support.
The Home Office does not publish a breakdown of these statistics which disaggregates the type of accommodation being used to accommodate asylum seekers.
As described above, accommodation for supported asylum seekers is arranged by private sector providers through contractual arrangements with the Home Office. Details of these contracts can be found here https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search/Results
Accommodation costs are considered to be commercially confidential, therefore the Home Office does not published this information, however 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
The AASC providers receive payments for providing services consistent with those requirements.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which body undertakes the inspection of the (a) quality and (b) safe provision of accommodation of asylum seekers; and what the frequency is of those inspections.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
We expect the highest standards from our providers and the accommodation provided must be safe, habitable, fit for purpose and is required to comply with the Decent Homes Standard, in addition to standards outlined in relevant national or local housing legislation.
Providers are expected to conduct regular checks across the accommodation estate with the Home Office having access to their systems. Throughout the pandemic the ability to inspect accommodation has faced some challenges; ensuring that we protect the safety of our staff and the people we support adhering to PHE guidance; whilst maintaining safe, habitable, fit for purpose accommodation.
We receive regular intel from calls to our AIRE (Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility) providers Migrant Help. Service Users can raise issues relating to accommodation through the Issue Reporting service provided by Migrant Help.
The Asylum Accommodation and Support Services contracts (AASC) have a robust performance management system, against which providers are expected to deliver. Where performance falls short of the required standard, failures are recorded and can result in the award of points and, ultimately, service credits being applied.
Providers’ performance is monitored closely by dedicated staff in each contract area, who are in daily contact with them. This is supplemented by a formal governance process which includes quarterly Strategic Review Management Boards and monthly Contract Management Groups. Service credits and subsequent improvement plans are discussed and monitored as part of this process.
The current global pandemic has presented us with significant challenges when it comes to the provision of asylum accommodation, including sourcing sufficient suitable accommodation to meet demand.
The use of hotels and wider government facilities are a short-term measure and we are working to move people to longer-term dispersal accommodation as soon as it becomes available.
The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area, which includes those in hotel and wider government facilities. These statistics can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets#asylum-support.
The Home Office does not publish a breakdown of these statistics which disaggregates the type of accommodation being used to accommodate asylum seekers.
As described above, accommodation for supported asylum seekers is arranged by private sector providers through contractual arrangements with the Home Office. Details of these contracts can be found here https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search/Results
Accommodation costs are considered to be commercially confidential, therefore the Home Office does not published this information, however 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
The AASC providers receive payments for providing services consistent with those requirements.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many hotel rooms her Department has procured for the placement of asylum seekers in each English region in (a) the financial year 2020-21 and (b) each of the previous five financial years.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
We expect the highest standards from our providers and the accommodation provided must be safe, habitable, fit for purpose and is required to comply with the Decent Homes Standard, in addition to standards outlined in relevant national or local housing legislation.
Providers are expected to conduct regular checks across the accommodation estate with the Home Office having access to their systems. Throughout the pandemic the ability to inspect accommodation has faced some challenges; ensuring that we protect the safety of our staff and the people we support adhering to PHE guidance; whilst maintaining safe, habitable, fit for purpose accommodation.
We receive regular intel from calls to our AIRE (Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility) providers Migrant Help. Service Users can raise issues relating to accommodation through the Issue Reporting service provided by Migrant Help.
The Asylum Accommodation and Support Services contracts (AASC) have a robust performance management system, against which providers are expected to deliver. Where performance falls short of the required standard, failures are recorded and can result in the award of points and, ultimately, service credits being applied.
Providers’ performance is monitored closely by dedicated staff in each contract area, who are in daily contact with them. This is supplemented by a formal governance process which includes quarterly Strategic Review Management Boards and monthly Contract Management Groups. Service credits and subsequent improvement plans are discussed and monitored as part of this process.
The current global pandemic has presented us with significant challenges when it comes to the provision of asylum accommodation, including sourcing sufficient suitable accommodation to meet demand.
The use of hotels and wider government facilities are a short-term measure and we are working to move people to longer-term dispersal accommodation as soon as it becomes available.
The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area, which includes those in hotel and wider government facilities. These statistics can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets#asylum-support.
The Home Office does not publish a breakdown of these statistics which disaggregates the type of accommodation being used to accommodate asylum seekers.
As described above, accommodation for supported asylum seekers is arranged by private sector providers through contractual arrangements with the Home Office. Details of these contracts can be found here https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search/Results
Accommodation costs are considered to be commercially confidential, therefore the Home Office does not published this information, however 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
The AASC providers receive payments for providing services consistent with those requirements.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what incentives her Department has put in place to help increase the diversity of local police officers in (a) Dudley North constituency and (b) the UK.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
This Government’s commitment to recruit an additional 20,000 officers provides a once in generation opportunity to improve diversity and this Government has been clear that all forces should be striving to become representative of the communities served. Through the Police Uplift Programme, we are supporting all forces, including West Midlands Police, with a variety of attraction and recruitment strategies, whilst delivering a national campaign that’s been designed to reach the widest and most diverse audience possible.
Some forces have made significant improvements in the rate of Black, Asian and minority ethnic joiners through successful positive action measures. Information is available on police.uk that shows the ethnicity and gender representation for each police force compared to local force area populations. This allows the public to hold forces to account.
The Government has also supported innovative schemes, such as Police Now, which are making the police workforce more diverse than ever before; showing that we can attract the brightest and best into policing, whilst introducing new perspectives from some of the country’s most challenging neighbourhoods.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of offences against emergency workers in (a) Dudley, (b) Sedgley and (c) Gornal and Woodsetton.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Our brave workers across the emergency services do an extraordinary job in the most difficult situations, keeping us safe, day in and day out. It is absolutely unacceptable for them to be assaulted.
The Home Office collects data from police forces on police recorded crime including “Assaults on a constable” and ‘Assaults with injury on an emergency worker other than a constable’. Data for ‘Assaults with injury on an emergency worker other than a constable’ is only available from April 2020 to June 2020.
Data is broken down by Police Force Area and Community Safety Partnership Area, including Dudley. Data is not collected at ward level. The latest data for the year ending June 2020 can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables
Assaults specifically against emergency workers are punishable by up to 12 months in prison and could be charged as common assault. We have also announced our intention to double the maximum sentence for assaults on emergency workers, from 12 months to two years, showing our commitment to ensuring these attacks are not tolerated.