Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will take steps to reduce the pay difference for experienced police community support officers transitioning to become police constables.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
On 13 July 2023, the Government announced that it had accepted the recommendations of the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) to award a consolidated increase of 7% to all ranks up to and including assistant chief constable and commander with effect from 1 September 2023. The Government also awarded the same increase to chief constables, deputy chief constables and ranks above commander in the Metropolitan Police Service and City of London Police. The PRRB’s recommendation to remove the lowest pay point for constables was also accepted, bringing starting salaries up to £28,551.
The independent PRRB and Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) consider and make recommendations to the Government on the appropriate level of pay and allowances for police officers. The Review Bodies gather and invite parties to submit evidence to inform their decisions. This includes both written and oral evidence from the Government, police employers and police staff associations.
The Home Secretary’s remit letters to the PRRB and SSRB, published on 20 December 2023, ask for recommendations on how to apply the pay award for 2024/25. The Government will give very careful consideration to their recommendations when they submit their reports in May.
The Government has no statutory role in determining the pay and conditions for police staff, including police community support officers, which are agreed locally by Chief Constables in consultation with trade unions.
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of police pay.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
On 13 July 2023, the Government announced that it had accepted the recommendations of the Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) to award a consolidated increase of 7% to all ranks up to and including assistant chief constable and commander with effect from 1 September 2023. The Government also awarded the same increase to chief constables, deputy chief constables and ranks above commander in the Metropolitan Police Service and City of London Police. The PRRB’s recommendation to remove the lowest pay point for constables was also accepted, bringing starting salaries up to £28,551.
The independent PRRB and Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) consider and make recommendations to the Government on the appropriate level of pay and allowances for police officers. The Review Bodies gather and invite parties to submit evidence to inform their decisions. This includes both written and oral evidence from the Government, police employers and police staff associations.
The Home Secretary’s remit letters to the PRRB and SSRB, published on 20 December 2023, ask for recommendations on how to apply the pay award for 2024/25. The Government will give very careful consideration to their recommendations when they submit their reports in May.
The Government has no statutory role in determining the pay and conditions for police staff, including police community support officers, which are agreed locally by Chief Constables in consultation with trade unions.
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will take steps to publish a consultation on his proposed increase to the income requirement for spousal visas for (a) people earning the National Living Wage and (b) other people.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
There are no plans to consult on the Government’s plans to increase the Minimum Income Requirement for those sponsoring family members on the partner or child family immigration routes.
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made a recent comparative assessment of the income requirements for spousal visas in (a) other countries and (b) the UK.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We keep the family Immigration Rules under regular review and part of that includes considering international comparisons.
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his oral statement of 4 December 2023 on Legal Migration, Official Report, columns 41-43, whether his Department considered regional differences in per capita income when setting the new income requirements for spousal visas.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Permission under the family route is not tied to a specific geographic area.
A requirement which varies by region could lead to inequalities within regions and make applications more complicated as people would be required to provide more evidence about their location.
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Border Force personnel have been recruited since January 2020.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Staffing and financial figures for Border Force from 2021 to 2023 can be found at Home Office annual report and accounts: 2020 to 2023 - GOV.UK Home Office annual report and accounts: 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has taken recent steps with charities and voluntary organisations to promote (a) social cohesion and (b) community safety.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government meets regularly with charities and voluntary groups for the purposes of enhancing community safety and promoting social cohesion.
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that female asylum seekers do not fall victim to modern slavery.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
All asylum seekers have an interview on arrival in the UK which includes a series of questions designed to understand whether there are any potential indicators of trafficking and to identify any vulnerabilities.
If there are any indicators present that a person is at potential risk of modern slavery a referral is made to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). The Single Competent Authority (SCA) will make a decision on this referral.
We take the wellbeing of asylum seekers seriously. Robust safeguarding procedures are in place to ensure all asylum seekers are safe and supported.
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been prosecuted for belonging and professing to belong to Hamas since that group was proscribed.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The Government takes proscription offences seriously. Investigations into the activities of proscribed organisations or individuals who may be members of proscribed organisations are an operational matter for the police and intelligence agencies.
The Government publishes quarterly national statistics on the use of police powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 and subsequent relevant legislation in Great Britain. This includes information on arrests, charges and convictions for proscription offences. The most recent publication up to year ending March 2023, was published on 08 June on GOV.UK: Operation of police powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 and subsequent legislation: Arrests, outcomes, and stop and search, Great Britain, quarterly update to March 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Mark Logan (Conservative - Bolton North East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to deport foreign nationals engaged in terrorist-related activity.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The safety and security of the UK is the Government’s highest priority. We take robust action to remove foreign nationals engaged in terrorist-related activity from the UK wherever possible. This requires careful consideration on the specific circumstances of each case, and complex and often sensitive engagement with our international partners. We are also frequently required to vigorously defend our immigration decision-making through the Courts process.
Where we cannot remove such individuals, the Government and operational partners have a range of powers at their disposal, amongst them criminal prosecution and where criminal prosecution is not possible Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (TPIMs), to manage the terrorist threat and protect our national security.