Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to establish a dedicated resettlement route for Palestinians leaving Gaza.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains extremely challenging. The UK committed £129 million in the last financial year, including £41 million for UNRWA. This supports vital infrastructure and ensures that those most in need across the Occupied Palestinian Territories, as well as those in neighbouring countries, are able to access healthcare, shelter and food assistance.
In any humanitarian situation, the UK must carefully consider its approach in response. Any decision to implement a bespoke visa scheme would need to consider a range of factors, including assessing the unique crisis and relevant impacts on security, compliance and returns.
The Government is working with the Israeli, Jordanian and Egyptian authorities to identify safe routes for British nationals and other eligible people to leave Gaza. Palestinians who wish to settle in the UK can do so via the existing routes available which allow a person to apply to work, study, settle or join family in the UK. Further information can be found on the GOV.UK website: UK Visas and Immigration - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he plans to provide additional funding to help tackle (a) knife and (b) gun crime.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The Government remains committed to providing the resources needed to tackle violent crime. This includes taking firm action to protect the public by addressing the threat of criminals gaining access to illegal firearms including implementing legislation to prevent legally held firearms getting into the hands of criminals.
In 2023/24 we allocated £55m to Violence Reduction Units, £12.9m to support delivery of the Serious Violence Duty and £30m to ‘Grip’ hotspot policing patrols to tackle serious violence. Work is ongoing to continue this activity in 2024/25.
In the 2024 Spring Budget, the Chancellor committed an additional £75 million over 3-years from 2025 to upscale existing violence reduction units and expand activity across England and Wales, supporting a prevention first approach to serious violence.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department is taking steps to support Birmingham City Council’s efforts to tackle street cruising.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The exercise of powers under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 by local authorities is a local matter.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to help support survivors of domestic abuse in Birmingham.
Answered by Laura Farris
The government has taken a number of measures to support victims of domestic abuse across England and Wales. As a result of the of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and our Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan (2022) the government will invest up to £140 million in supporting victims.
Funding which may support victims in Birmingham from this plan includes, but is not limited to:
Ringfenced funding the Ministry of Justice provided to PCCs. In 2023/2024 MoJ provided £38 million for Independent Sexual Violence Advisors and Independent Domestic Violence Advisors and £21 million for community-based domestic abuse and sexual violence services.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that there are an adequate number of firefighters with (a) adequate and (b) reliable equipment to tackle fires in cities in England.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The Government is committed to ensuring Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) have the resources they need to do their important work. Overall, Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs) will receive around £2.87 billion in 2024/25. Standalone FRAs will see an increase in core spending power of £95.4m in 2024/25. This is an increase of 5.6 per cent in cash terms compared to 2023/24.
Decisions on how FRSs are run, and how their resources are allocated, including crewing numbers and the procurement of equipment, are for the local Chief Fire Officers and their democratically elected FRA. They are responsible for ensuring the needs and demands of their local community are met and are able to direct their resources where they are needed most.
All FRAs have a statutory duty to produce a Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) in which they set out the key challenges and risks facing their communities and how they intend to meet and reduce them. This is in line with the Fire and Rescue National Framework, which is the document by which the Home Office sets strategic requirements for the FRA.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department has taken to (a) reduce crime and (b) improve community safety in Birmingham.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
This Government is committed to cutting crime, keeping our streets safe, and restoring confidence in the criminal justice system.
Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), as the locally elected and democratically accountable individual, are responsible for the totality of policing in their area. They set local policing and crime objectives in partnership with their communities and key stakeholders and hold the Chief Constable to account for the delivery of efficient and effective policing.
The Government is funding a range of initiatives in Birmingham and the wider West Midlands police force area to reduce crime. Through the Safer Streets Fund, the West Midlands has received just over £3.7m of investment through five rounds of the Fund. As part of the current Round Five, the West Midlands PCC has been allocated £819k to deliver interventions aimed at targeting neighbourhood crime, anti-social behaviour, and violence against women and girls.
To tackle the drivers of serious violence, the Home Office has invested over £20m since 2019 to develop the West Midlands Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), including funding of over £4.38m in 2023/2024. The West Midlands VRU delivers a range of preventative interventions, cognitive behavioural therapy programmes, and sports-based diversionary programmes.
During the Police Uplift, West Midlands recruited 1,376 additional uplift officers against a total three-year allocation of 1,218 officers. As at 30 September 2023, there were 7,982 police officers in West Midlands, a total growth of 1,291 additional officers against the baseline (6,691) at the start of the Police Uplift.
Overall, the West Midlands will receive up to £790.4 million in 2024/2025 from the police funding settlement, an increase of up to £51.1 million when compared to 2023/2024.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers in managerial roles have faced disciplinary action as a result of inquiries into Wayne Couzens.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The IOPC carried out a number of investigations into incidents related to Wayne Couzens, including the handling of indecent exposure allegations against him and sharing offensive content via social media.
As a result, a total of eleven officers from multiple forces faced disciplinary action; ten of these were constables and one was a sergeant.
Seven of the officers were found to have committed gross misconduct at proceedings and were dismissed, or would have been dismissed if still serving. Two officers received final written warnings and two officers received reflective practice.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential trauma for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children of being housed in hotels.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
We maintain that the best place for these children to be accommodated is within local authority care. As part of the national transfer scheme, the receiving local authority must provide suitable support for all children being moved into their care, including health care, irrespective of the child’s immigration status.
Asylum seekers have access to health and social care services from the point of arrival in the UK. The Home Office and its contractors work closely with the NHS, local authorities and non-governmental organisations to ensure that people can access the healthcare and support they need.
The Home Office also operates a Safeguarding Hub to support vulnerable individuals in accessing these services. In addition, the Home Office contracts Migrant Help to provide advice and guidance to asylum seekers should they have an issue with their accommodation or support, and for signposting to health and welfare services. Asylum seekers can access Migrant Help 24/7, every day of the year by a freephone telephone number, via an online chat, or completing an email enquiry form, both of which can be accessed free of charge on the Migrant Help website. Interpreting and translation services are available through Migrant Help when the need arises for asylum seekers to raise any queries or concerns.
The information you have requested of the Home Office is not held in a reportable format.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied children in temporary accommodation have been provided with healthcare support in the last 12 months.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
We maintain that the best place for these children to be accommodated is within local authority care. As part of the national transfer scheme, the receiving local authority must provide suitable support for all children being moved into their care, including health care, irrespective of the child’s immigration status.
Asylum seekers have access to health and social care services from the point of arrival in the UK. The Home Office and its contractors work closely with the NHS, local authorities and non-governmental organisations to ensure that people can access the healthcare and support they need.
The Home Office also operates a Safeguarding Hub to support vulnerable individuals in accessing these services. In addition, the Home Office contracts Migrant Help to provide advice and guidance to asylum seekers should they have an issue with their accommodation or support, and for signposting to health and welfare services. Asylum seekers can access Migrant Help 24/7, every day of the year by a freephone telephone number, via an online chat, or completing an email enquiry form, both of which can be accessed free of charge on the Migrant Help website. Interpreting and translation services are available through Migrant Help when the need arises for asylum seekers to raise any queries or concerns.
The information you have requested of the Home Office is not held in a reportable format.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an assessment of the potential factors that contribute to teenage involvement in knife crime.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Home Office analysts have previously produced a report examining risk factors for serious violence (including weapons carrying) based on two UK-based longitudinal surveys of young people.
The report is available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5d36d7fa40f0b604d8e5fe4b/analysis-of-indicators-of-serious-violence-horr110.pdf