Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many employees of (a) Immigration Enforcement, (b) UK Visas and Immigration, (c) Border Force and (d) HM Passport Office have been found guilty of (i) corruption and (ii) immigration offences in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
Note that we do not distinguish between immigration, crime and corruption stated in the request. We categorise all immigration crime as corruption and therefore provided a total figure.
A breakdown for each year is provided below:
Year | Number of convictions |
|
2014 | 1 | UKVI - 1 |
2015 | 6 | IE – 3 UKVI – 1 BF - 2 |
2016 | 2 | UKVI - 1 HMPO - 1 |
2017 | 2 | IE – 1 BF - 1 |
2018 | 1 | UKVI - 1 |
2019 | 1 | IE- 1 |
2020 | 0 |
|
2021 | 0 |
|
2022 | 1 | UKVI - 1 |
2023 | 4 | UKVI – 4 |
2024 | 1 | UKVI - 1 |
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to publish what the total value of (a) income tax paid, (b) National Insurance Contributions paid, (c) tax credits claimed and (d) child benefit claimed for non-UK nationals is, broken down by nationality, for each of the last five years.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC no longer produce a breakdown of Income Tax paid, National Insurance contributions paid, tax credits claimed and Child Benefit claimed by nationality. The latest publication was in August 2022.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claims were processed by the Child Maintenance Agency in each of the last five years; and how many appeals were (a) lodged, (b) fully processed, (c) upheld and (d) rejected.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
A principle of child maintenance is to increase levels of cooperation between separated parents and encourage parents to meet their responsibilities to provide their children with financial support.
Where a family-based child maintenance arrangement is not suitable the Child Maintenance Service offers a statutory scheme for those parents who need it.
When a parent joins the statutory scheme Child Maintenance Service will do everything within its powers to ensure parents comply and meet their obligations to children.
In the 12 months up to March 2024 there were 131,300 claims to the child maintenance statutory scheme (rounded to the nearest 100) and the child maintenance service arranged £1.4 billion child maintenance through the statutory scheme, an increase from £1.2 billion during the previous 12 months.
CMS are wholly committed to delivering the best possible service to all customers within our growing caseload. When a Parent or their representative disagrees with a decision about a child maintenance calculation, they have the right to appeal. Before they do this, they must first ask for a Mandatory Reconsideration.
If the Child Maintenance Service decides not to change its decision the parent can follow the formal appeal process, handled by HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) where an independent tribunal will look at the Child Maintenance Service’s decision.
The Department publishes quarterly statistics for the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) and the latest statistics are available up to March 2024.
Table 3 from the latest National tables contains the number of arrangements joining the Child Maintenance Service each quarter from January 2015 to March 2024. Table 11 contains information on the number of appeals made by parents to His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service to review a decision made by the Child Maintenance Service each quarter from April 2015 to March 2024.
Excerpts for the last five years for both tables are shown below.
Table 3: Intake, Great Britain, April 2019 to March 2024
Quarter of Application | Intake |
Apr to Jun 2019 | 22,300 |
Jul to Sep 2019 | 22,100 |
Oct to Dec 2019 | 17,200 |
Jan to Mar 2020 | 20,300 |
Apr to Jun 2020 [note 2] | 13,100 |
Jul to Sep 2020 | 21,800 |
Oct to Dec 2020 | 17,600 |
Jan to Mar 2021 | 18,400 |
Apr to Jun 2021 | 19,700 |
Jul to Sep 2021 | 21,300 |
Oct to Dec 2021 | 19,500 |
Jan to Mar 2022 | 26,900 |
Apr to Jun 2022 | 32,000 |
Jul to Sep 2022 | 33,600 |
Oct to Dec 2022 | 27,200 |
Jan to Mar 2023 | 32,400 |
Apr to Jun 2023 | 32,400 |
Jul to Sep 2023 | 34,700 |
Oct to Dec 2023 | 28,600 |
Jan to Mar 2024 | 35,600 |
|
|
Source: Child Maintenance Service Management Information
Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.
Note Number | Note Text |
note 1 | Intake includes new arrangements as well as arrangements where the parent has closed an existing arrangement and then decided to re-open it at a later date. |
note 2 | During the quarter ending June 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak may have reduced the demand for new Child Service Maintenance arrangements. |
Table 11: Appeals, Great Britain, April 2019 to March 2024
Quarter | Appeals Received | CMS Outcome: Withdrawn | CMS Outcome: | Tribunal Service Outcome: | Tribunal Service Outcome: | Total Clearances |
[note 1] | [note 2] | Revised [note 3] | Upheld [note 4] | Dismissed [note 5] | [note 6] | |
|
|
| ||||
Apr to Jun 2019 | 965 | 15 | 240 | 235 | 350 | 845 |
Jul to Sep 2019 | 965 | 20 | 165 | 225 | 385 | 795 |
Oct to Dec 2019 | 1,000 | 20 | 185 | 225 | 375 | 805 |
Jan to Mar 2020 | 1,105 | 15 | 195 | 225 | 385 | 820 |
Apr to Jun 2020 | 465 | 10 | 85 | 90 | 140 | 325 |
Jul to Sep 2020 | 1,030 | 20 | 125 | 120 | 210 | 470 |
Oct to Dec 2020 | 1,040 | 10 | 205 | 220 | 365 | 805 |
Jan to Mar 2021 | 980 | 5 | 175 | 240 | 445 | 865 |
Apr to Jun 2021 | 1,045 | 5 | 145 | 400 | 880 | 1,430 |
Jul to Sep 2021 | 1,120 | 10 | 155 | 315 | 365 | 850 |
Oct to Dec 2021 | 1,350 | 15 | 195 | 265 | 350 | 830 |
Jan to Mar 2022 | 735 | 20 | 255 | 330 | 455 | 1,060 |
Apr to Jun 2022 | 965 | 25 | 260 | 280 | 420 | 985 |
Jul to Sep 2022 | 895 | 35 | 250 | 360 | 490 | 1,135 |
Oct to Dec 2022 | 865 | 35 | 240 | 380 | 505 | 1,160 |
Jan to Mar 2023 | 1,110 | 10 | 100 | 295 | 345 | 745 |
Apr to Jun 2023 | 1,325 | 0 | 0 | 200 | 215 | 415 |
Jul to Sep 2023 | 1,085 | 20 | 220 | 200 | 180 | 620 |
Oct to Dec 2023 | 1,155 | 25 | 200 | 290 | 290 | 805 |
Jan to Mar 2024 | 1,030 | 10 | 225 | 310 | 220 | 770 |
Source: Child Maintenance Service Management Information
Figures are rounded to the nearest 5.
Note number | Note Text |
note 1 | Parents can appeal a decision by the Child Maintenance Service on payment amounts with the Tribunal Service which is impartial and independent of Government. Before they do this, they must ask the Child Maintenance Service to review and reconsider their decision (known as a Mandatory Reconsideration). |
note 2 | Where the parent decides that they no longer want to appeal the decision and withdraw the appeal. |
note 3 | Where the Child Maintenance Service finds the original decision to be incorrect, or the parent has supplied more information which changes the decision. |
note 4 | Where His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service overturns the decision made by the Child Maintenance Service and supports the parent's appeal. This includes appeals where the appellant provides additional evidence to the court. |
note 5 | Where the courts dismiss the appeal made by the parent and support the decision made by the Child Maintenance Service. |
note 6 | The sum of the Child Maintenance Service appeals withdrawn and revised in addition to the Tribunal Service appeals dismissed and upheld. |
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) names and (b) addresses are of all test centres used for the Life in the UK Test.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The full list of Life in the UK test centres as of 10 September 2024 is as follows:
Name of test centre | Address | Town/City | Postcode |
PSI @ North East Scotland College | Ground Floor, North East Scotland College, Gallowgate | Aberdeen | AB25 1BN |
People 1st Belfast | Rosemont, 89 Malone Road, | Belfast | BT9 6SP |
PSI Birmingham | Gateway House, 3rd Floor, 50-53 High Street | Birmingham | B4 7SY |
Community Training Portal Blackburn | Suite 15, Kings Court, Kings Street, | Blackburn | BB2 2DH |
MTS@Vantage Point, Brighton | 7th floor, Vantage Point, New England Rd, Brighton | Brighton | BN1 4GW |
Pitman/go train Bristol | Unit 9, Hide Market, Waterloo Road, St Philips | Bristol | BS2 0PL |
MTS Cardiff | 5th Floor, 5-7 Market Chambers, 5-7 St Marys Street | Cardiff | CF10 1AT |
MTS Coventry | 1st floor, 101 Lockhurst Lane | Coventry | CV6 5SF |
PSI Croydon | 8th Floor, Grosvenor House, 125 High Street | Croydon | CR0 9XP |
MTS @ Edinburgh | 40 Sciennes, Newington | Edinburgh | EH9 1NJ |
Episkopi e-LC | Episkopi LC | Episkopi/Cyprus | BFPO 58 |
We Can Train Pitman | Exam rooms Park Five Business Centre, Harrier Way, Sowton Industrial Estate | Exeter | EX2 7HU |
PSI Glasgow | Adelphi Centre, 12 Commercial Road | Glasgow | G5 0PQ |
Iranian Association | 222 King Street, Hammersmith | Hammersmith | W6 0RA |
Computer Learning Centre Hounslow | 65 Kingsley Road | Hounslow | TW3 1QB |
PSI Nairn Inverness | Nairn Community & Arts Centre | Inverness | IV12 4BQ |
PSI at The Hub Business Centre Ipswich | 2nd floor, Room 16a , 2 Civic Drive | Ipswich | IP1 2QA |
PSI Leeds | Part 4th Floor, Oxford House, Oxford Row | Leeds | LS1 3BE |
PSI Leicester | 5th Floor, 60 Charles Street | Leicester | LE1 1FB |
PDA (Training) Ltd Lewisham | 107-109 Lewisham High Street | Lewisham | SE13 6AT |
PSI Liverpool | 1 Union Court, 4th Floor | Liverpool | L2 4SJ |
Community Training Portal Luton | 114-134 Midland Road,Luton, | Luton | LU2 OBL |
Synod Solutions @ Maidstone | 1st floor, 114 Kestrel House, Knight Rider Street, | Maidstone | ME15 6LU |
PSI Manchester | 6th Floor, Boulton House, 17-21 Chorlton Street | Manchester | M1 3HY |
MTS Milton Keynes | Gloucester House, MTS Ground Floor , 399 Silbury Boulevard | Milton Keynes | MK9 2AH |
PSI Newcastle | Arden House, 4th Floor, Regent Centre, Gosforth | Newcastle | NE3 3LU |
PSI Norwich | Room 23-24, Ground Floor, Sackville Place, 44-48 Magdalen Street | Norwich | NR3 1JU |
Community Training Portal Nottingham | 2 Pelham Court, Pelham Road, CTP Ground Floor (Palmer House) | Nottingham | NG5 1AP |
PSI Oxford | Unit 1 (first entrance at the rear of the building), Watlington House, Watlington Road | Oxford | OX4 6NF |
PSI Penrith | Ground floor,Eden Rural Foyer,Old London Rd | Penrith | CA11 8ET |
PSI at Online Exams Peterborough | Sefton House, Adam Court, Newark Road | Peterborough | PE1 5PP |
PSI eAssessment Plymouth | Cobourg House, 3rd Floor, 32, Mayflower Street | Plymouth | PL1 1QX |
Pitman/We can train Portsmouth | Portsmouth Technopole, Kingston Crescent | Portsmouth | P02 8FA |
Preston Academy of English | 38 Ormskirk Road | Preston | PR1 2QP |
PSI Reading | Highline, 6th Floor, 30 Greyfriars Road | Reading | RG1 1PE |
PSI Sheffield | The Synergy Building, Bank Street Entrance, Bank Street, Hartshead | Sheffield | S1 2EL |
PSI Stratford | 2nd Floor, Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford, London | Stratford | E15 1NT |
Computeraid | 4th Floor, 11 Wind Street | Swansea | SA1 1DP |
Community Training Portal Watford | Suite W2 & W3 Victoria House, 45-47 Vicarage Road | Watford | WD18 0DE |
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many employees of (a) Immigration Enforcement, (b) UK Visas and Immigration, (c) Border Force and (d) HM Passport Office were (i) suspended and (ii) dismissed for gross misconduct in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
(i) Employees Suspended in each of the last 10 years | ||||
Business Area | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
Border Force | 17 | NA | NA | 55 |
Immigration Enforcement | 9 | NA | NA | 12 |
Borders and Enforcement | NA | 52 | 60 | NA |
HM Passport Office | 6 | 10 | NA | NA |
Visas & Immigration | 4 | 6 | NA | NA |
VIP except IHS and ISC | NA | NA | 30 | 72 |
*Suspension information is held centrally form April 2020 onwards, to retrieve this information before that time would be require disproportionate effort. The information in the table above is for all suspension regardless of the reason.
(ii) Employees dismissed for gross misconduct in each of the last 10 years | ||||||||||
Business Area | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
Border Force | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | NA | NA | 18 |
Immigration Enforcement | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | NA | NA | 6 |
Borders and Enforcement | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 7 | 14 | NA |
HM Passport Office | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | NA | NA |
Visas & Immigration | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | NA | NA |
VIP except IHS and ISC | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 14 | 22 |
The departmental data from 2021 onwards could not be structured as stipulated in the question, this is due to internal reorganisation within the Home Office - the timeseries provided represents figures as the organisation was structured as at 31st March each year.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish the total number of claimants broken down by nationality for all benefits.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department does not hold data on the current nationality of those claiming benefits. As such there are no plans to publish the total number of customers broken down by nationality for all benefits. Decisions regarding the development and publication of Official Statistics are the responsibility of the Chief Statistician.
DWP policy responsibility lies in establishing the eligibility of non-UK / Irish claimants to claim benefits. An individual’s specific nationality does not play a role in this. Eligibility differs by benefit but is usually determined by an individual’s immigration status, alongside their ability to meet the requirements of the Habitual Residence Test (for income-related benefits), the Past Presence Test (for disability benefits), and / or having the necessary National Insurance contributions (for contributions-based benefits).
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress she has made in reforming vetting procedures for police recruits since 3 March 2021.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The framework for police vetting, which applies to the existing workforce as well as new recruits, is currently set by the College of Policing via its statutory code of practice on vetting and authorised professional practice (APP) guidance on vetting.
The vetting APP, which is reviewed on an ongoing basis, was last updated in March 2021. The College plans to publish a revised version this year following a public consultation in January and having considered recommendations from part 1 of the Angiolini Inquiry.
The government has committed to strengthening police vetting and will be bringing forward statutory measures to do so in due course.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the names of people issued with a security pass to access Downing Street since 4 July 2024, excluding special advisers and civil servants.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member and Hon Member to the answer given by the then Prime Minister on 7 February 2017, Official Report, PQ 62542.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the eligibility criteria for the Nuclear Test Medal to include UK service personnel who took part in (a) Operation Bagpipes in 1954 and (b) all other US tests.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Nuclear Test Medal was designed to recognise the unique contribution of those personnel who served at the locations in Australia and the Pacific where the UK Atmospheric Nuclear Test Programme, including clear-up operations, took place between 1952 and 1967. In particular, the Medal recognises the contribution made by these personnel to the development of the UK's independent deterrent.
The agreed eligibility criteria for the Medal do not currently include UK personnel who were not present in the defined test areas, personnel who monitored nuclear tests conducted by other nations, or personnel who were present at later, non-atmospheric, tests.
We recognise the sacrifices and the huge contribution that Nuclear Test Veterans have made to the UK’s security. The Secretary of State for Defence has directed the Department to look at the commemorative medal criteria, in consultation with other stakeholders.