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Written Question
Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
Wednesday 13th March 2024

Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing minimum unit pricing for alcohol; and what other steps he is taking to help reduce alcohol harm.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government continues to watch the impact of MUP in Scotland with interest.

In England and Wales there is an ambitious programme of work in train to tackle alcohol-related harms including significant investment in treatment and recovery services, equipping the police and local authorities with the right powers to take effective actions against alcohol related-crime and harms in the night-time economy.

The Government has delivered on its commitment to review the outdated and complex alcohol duty system and introduced the biggest reform of alcohol duties for 140 years. From 1 August 2023, all alcohol has been taxed by strength, putting public health at the heart of alcohol duty.

This is helping to target problem drinking by taxing products associated with alcohol-related harm at a higher rate of duty. This new system is incentivising the production and consumption of lower strength products by introducing a reduced rate of duty for products of a lower alcohol by volume (ABV).


Written Question
Overseas Students: Employment
Monday 11th December 2023

Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the number of hours that people on student visas can work.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Student route is primarily for study, not for work, but many students can work up to 20 hours per week during term time and full time outside of term time.

We currently have no plans to increase these working hour limits. They ensure the route is not being used as a backdoor to the UK’s labour market and protects the UK’s reputation for educational excellence.


Written Question
Public Spaces Protection Orders
Friday 20th October 2023

Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of expanding public spaces protection orders to all public places as defined by her Department.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is committed to tackling and preventing anti-social behaviour (ASB). We know the serious impact that persistent ASB can have on both individuals and the wider community.

We provided the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of flexible tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to ASB through the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

It is for local areas to decide how best to deploy these powers depending on the specific circumstances. They are best placed to understand what is driving the behaviour in question, the impact that it is having, and to determine the most appropriate response.


Written Question
Visas: Married People
Friday 20th October 2023

Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will consult child psychologists on the potential health impact of increasing spouse visa fees on affected children.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The Home Office has aways provided exceptions to the need to pay application fees in a number of specific circumstances. These include affordability-based waivers for entry clearance and leave to remain on family and human rights grounds. These provisions ensure that the Home Office’s immigration and nationality fee structure complies with international obligations and wider Government policy, and we believe represents the right balance between protecting the integrity of the department’s funding model while helping to facilitate access to immigration and nationality products and services, including for the most vulnerable.

The Home Office published an Equalities Impact Assessment alongside the Regulations that increased immigration and nationality fees in October 2023. This included an assessment of the proposals in line with the Secretary of State’s duty under Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009.

There are currently no plans to consult on fee levels.


Written Question
Family Liaison Officers
Wednesday 19th April 2023

Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she is taking steps to (a) increase the number of family liaison officers in the police force and (b) provide additional (i) training on communicating with families during policing operations and (ii) resources for family liaison officers.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

Decisions about the allocation and deployment of resources to meet local need, including family liaison officers (FLOs) and their training, are operational matters for Chief Constables. They are best placed to make decisions about how best to meet those needs based on their local knowledge and expertise.

The FLO training programme is delivered by police forces. The College of Policing publishes guidance on the deployment of FLOs to inform strategy and direction, which is reflected in the FLO curriculum.

In recent years, this Government has committed substantial funding to invest in policing and reduce crime. As of December 2022, police forces have across England and Wales, recruited 16,753 additional officers as part of the Police Uplift, making up 84% of the target of 20,000 additional officers. The Government has confirmed a total police funding settlement of up to £17.2 billion in 2023/24, an increase of up to £313.8 million when compared to 2022/23.


Written Question
Migrants: Detainees
Friday 23rd December 2022

Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when they expect the Kings Arms Project to publish the Alternatives To Detention report.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The first Community Engagement Pilot, Action Access, provided women who would otherwise be detained with a programme of support in the community. This pilot concluded on 31 March 2021 after operating for two years, as planned. To increase external credibility of evaluation, the UNHCR appointed the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) to independently evaluate this work. The independent evaluation of Action Access was published on 24 January 2022.

The second pilot, the Refugee and Migrant Advisory Service, supported both men and women in the community and remained in operation for two years until June 2022. The independent evaluation of the Refugee and Migrant Advisory Service is expected to be published by NatCen early next year.


Written Question
Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre: Inspections
Thursday 22nd December 2022

Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the report by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons entitled Report on an unannounced inspection of Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre, published on 6 December 2022, what assessment she has made of the implications for her Department's policies of the 15 key concerns identified in that report.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The Government has fully considered the recommendations made by HM Chief Inspector of Prison following his recent inspection report of Derwentside immigration removal centre. The Government’s response to the recommendations made, including the actions being taken forward, will be published on the Inspectorate’s website in due course.


Written Question
Asylum: Housing
Thursday 13th October 2022

Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average monthly cost of accommodation for an asylum seeker was in (a) the UK and (b) Newcastle upon Tyne in the last 12 months.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Costs are subject to change depending on numbers being accommodated within the asylum system. Accommodation costs are considered to be commercially confidential; therefore, the Home Office does not publish 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(opens in a new tab).


Written Question
Asylum: Interviews
Thursday 13th October 2022

Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many substantive interviews for asylum applications her Department has carried out in the last 12 months.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Home Office is unable to state how many substantive interviews for asylum applications have been carried out in the last 12 months, because this data is not held in a reportable format, not routinely published and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

However, the Home Office does publish data on the number of asylum claims awaiting an initial decision by duration, for main claimant only. This data can be found at Asy_04 of the published Immigration Statistics:

List of tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The Home Office is committed to ensuring asylum claims are considered without unnecessary delay; that individuals who need protection are granted asylum as soon as possible, so that they can start to integrate and rebuild their lives.


Written Question
Asylum: Applications
Thursday 21st July 2022

Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum applications have received a decision in each quarter of the last five years from applicants in (a) Newcastle upon Tyne East constituency, (b) the North East and (c) the UK.

Answered by Kevin Foster

Whilst we hold data on the current addresses of asylum claimants, the Home Office is unable to state how many asylum applications have received a substantive interview in each (a) of the last five years and (b) quarter of the last five years in (i) the UK, (ii) the North East and (iii) Newcastle upon Tyne East constituency, nor can we state the number of asylum applications which have received a decision in each quarter of the last five years from claimants in (a) Newcastle upon Tyne East constituency, (b) the North East and (c) the UK as this information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost as it is not held in a reportable format.

The Home Office does publish data on the number asylum applications awaiting an initial decision by duration and can be found at Asy_01 of the Transparency data: Q1 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and those processed within 6 months and initial decision outcomes, for main claimants only, found at Asy_D02 and Asy_04 of the published Immigration Statistics: List of tables - GOV.UK (List of tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).