Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress she has made on creating a cross-departmental taskforce on tackling illicit trade involving i) his Department, (ii) HMRC, (iii) the Home Office and (iv) the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
On 19 May, the Home Office announced a £30 million crackdown targeting cash intensive business such as barber shops, vape stores, mini-marts and sweet shops operating on our high streets, over three years. This includes the following activities:
We are also working closely with MHCLG to ensure our policy proposals align with their upcoming High Streets Strategy.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what amount she is planning to pay Wealden District Council under the Funding Instruction for Local Authorities: Asylum grant by 30th June 2026.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Cabinet Office publish annual grant funding data (Government Grants Data and Statistics) where you can find details of grant levels by local authority area broken down per year once available. The Home Office does not publish any additional information.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many meetings have her (a) Ministers and (b) civil servants attended relating to the Crowborough Training Camp and the accommodation of asylum seekers that were facilitated by the leadership of Wealden District Council since October 2025.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has engaged extensively with Wealden District Council in relation to the use of Crowborough Training Camp. This has included meetings attended by senior civil servants, as well as attendance at a meeting of the Wealden District Council Scrutiny and Performance Committee in November 2025.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has received any written representations or invitations to meet from Councillor Ian Tysh (Maresfield, Planning and Environment Portfolio) of Wealden District Council relating to the accommodation of asylum seekers at the Crowborough Training Camp.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has met regularly with Wealden District Council and has not received written representations or invitations to meet from Councillor Ian Tysh.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has received any written representations or invitations to meet from Councillor Gareth Owen-Williams (Crowborough Jarvis Brook) of Wealden District Council relating to the accommodation of asylum seekers at the Crowborough Training Camp.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has met regularly with Wealden District Council and has not received written representations or invitations to meet from Councillor Gareth Owen-Williams.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has facilitated visits to the Crowborough Training Camp for Councillor Rachel Millward and Councillor James Partridge, the Leaders of Wealden District Council; and on what date any such visit took place.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Yes, the Home Office facilitated a visit on 9 February 2026.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any Ministers from her Department have visited the Crowborough Training Camp since October 2025.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
No, ministers have not yet visited the Crowborough site.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when will the Copthorne Hotel Gatwick Airport cease to provide asylum accommodation.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government inherited a broken asylum system, with tens of thousands stuck in a backlog and claims not being processed, wasting millions in taxpayer money. We will empty asylum hotels as soon as possible, and by the end of this Parliament. That is a complex process that must be delivered through a controlled, managed and orderly plan of work.
For the safety, security, and wellbeing of those we accommodate, we do not publicly comment on individual hotels which may or may not be utilised by the Home Office, nor do we provide details of those we accommodate at any site.
The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers at the Copthorne Hotel London Gatwick are (a) single males and (b) family groups for which the latest data is available.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government inherited a broken asylum system, with tens of thousands stuck in a backlog and claims not being processed, wasting millions in taxpayer money. We will empty asylum hotels as soon as possible, and by the end of this Parliament. That is a complex process that must be delivered through a controlled, managed and orderly plan of work.
For the safety, security, and wellbeing of those we accommodate, we do not publicly comment on individual hotels which may or may not be utilised by the Home Office, nor do we provide details of those we accommodate at any site.
The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers have been (a) moved from the Copthorne Hotel since 22 January and (b) are still located at the site.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government inherited a broken asylum system, with tens of thousands stuck in a backlog and claims not being processed, wasting millions in taxpayer money. We will empty asylum hotels as soon as possible, and by the end of this Parliament. That is a complex process that must be delivered through a controlled, managed and orderly plan of work.
For the safety, security, and wellbeing of those we accommodate, we do not publicly comment on individual hotels which may or may not be utilised by the Home Office, nor do we provide details of those we accommodate at any site.
The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).