Asked by: Nigel Farage (Reform UK - Clacton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which countries have had visitor visas reinstated since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Since 5 July 2024, the UK has reintroduced visitor visa requirements for nationals of Jordan on 10 September 2024 and for nationals of Colombia on 26 November 2024.
Asked by: Nigel Farage (Reform UK - Clacton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support pubs in (a) Clacton and (b) nationally.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Pubs, including in Clacton, are at the heart of our communities and play a vital role in supporting economic growth across the UK. We will restore consumer confidence through measures such as the plan to Make Work Pay, which sets out an ambitious agenda to ensure employment rights are fit for a modern economy, empower working people and contribute to economic growth. Furthermore, through the English Devolution Bill we will introduce a new ‘right to buy’ for valued community assets, empowering communities to reclaim empty premises including pubs, to stimulate local growth.
We have also established Skills England, a new partnership which will transform the existing Apprenticeship Levy into a more flexible Growth and Skills Levy to better support business and boost opportunity for people to work in pubs. This will address one of the key asks of the Hospitality Sector that the Levy should include shorter courses that would be more suitable to this sector.
Asked by: Nigel Farage (Reform UK - Clacton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many foreign national offenders are incarcerated in the United Kingdom as of 22 October 2024.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
As of 30 June 2024, there were 10,435 foreign nationals in HMPPS custody.
The number of foreign national offenders (FNOs) in prison in England and Wales is published quarterly in table 1_Q_11 of Offender Management Statistics, with the latest data (30 June 2024) available from: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66a1167cce1fd0da7b592c8d/Prison-population-30-June-2024.ods.
The removal of FNOs is an important priority of this Government. FNOs who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, where appropriate, we will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. This will help to manage prison pressures, keep the public safe and reduce crime.
Offender Management Statistics will next be published on 31 October 2024, covering the prison population as of 30 September 2024. Please note, the above figures relate only to foreign nationals detained in prison in England and Wales. Queries concerning the numbers of foreign nationals detained in non-prison settings, such as Immigration Removal Centres or Secure Hospitals, would need to be directed to the relevant government department. Queries on the number of foreign nationals held in custody in other legal jurisdictions within the United Kingdom would need to be directed to the relevant jurisdiction.
Asked by: Nigel Farage (Reform UK - Clacton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on police protection provided to people other than Ministers and members of the Royal Family.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
The government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate. It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on protective security arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.
Decisions on security arrangements are independent operational decisions for the police.
Asked by: Nigel Farage (Reform UK - Clacton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of illegal migrants crossing the English Channel who are not intercepted by Border Force.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
On a daily basis, the Home Office publishes data on the number of small boats crossing the Channel that have been involved in uncontrolled landings. The latest such publication, and a time series dating back to 2018, can be found at: Small boat activity in the English Channel - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Nigel Farage (Reform UK - Clacton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to work with young people to help prevent radicalisation.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to ensuring all children and young people are safe, including from radicalisation.
The Prevent programme tackles ideological causes of terrorism and provides early intervention for people at risk of radicalisation.
Where a young person has been exposed to harmful terrorist narratives, early intervention through Prevent can provide vital safeguarding measures. The programme provides training for educators, healthcare staff and other frontline staff to help them identify and protect those susceptible to radicalisation.
The Home Secretary has commissioned the Counter-Extremism Sprint to identify gaps in current policy approaches and to recommend a new approach to tackling radicalisation that can draw individuals to hateful ideologies, both online and offline.
We will continue to consider any new measures to prevent youth radicalisation.
Asked by: Nigel Farage (Reform UK - Clacton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of the UK withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This Government is unequivocally committed to the European Convention of Human Rights and will not withdraw from it. The UK government maintains profound respect for international law and remains fully committed to the international human rights framework and the important role that multilateral organisations like the Council of Europe play in upholding it.
Asked by: Nigel Farage (Reform UK - Clacton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the value for money of payments made to the French government to stop the departures of illegal boats travelling to the UK from northern France.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
Expenditure and value for money are monitored closely, with a joint governance structure to ensure the suitability of proposed expenditure against the shared aim of the UK and French Governments of stopping these dangerous and unnecessary crossings.
Asked by: Nigel Farage (Reform UK - Clacton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many small boats without permission to enter the UK departing from northern France have been disrupted this year, and of those how many migrants were (a) detained or (b) attempted a further crossing.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
So far in 2024 (to 6 October) a total of 607 boats have been prevented from crossing the Channel as a result of our joint work with the French.
Asked by: Nigel Farage (Reform UK - Clacton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has plans to offer an amnesty to illegal immigrants residing in the UK.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
No.