Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Vicky Foxcroft and Laura Farris

Monday 26th February 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Laura Farris)]

The Home Office explored whether a name-change ban should be extended to murderers and determined that the operational need did not exist. Anyone convicted of murder automatically receives a life sentence. If they are released from prison, they are managed by probation for the remainder of their life and they remain under an obligation to notify probation within 72 hours of any change of their name. Should they fail to do so, they face immediate recall to prison and up to an extra five years behind bars. So far, we feel that that is working adequately.

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

T3. Next month, it will be four years since the publication of the cross-party Youth Violence Commission report, which recommended violence reduction units. However, knife crime and serious violence are soaring across the country. Does the Minister accept that his Government’s severe cuts to police numbers, which mean we are at the bottom of international ranking tables, is leaving our young people and communities without the protection they need?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Vicky Foxcroft and Laura Farris

Wednesday 7th February 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Laura Farris)]

As of December 2023, 91% of all claims either had received a final decision or were less than six months old. The Windrush scheme has reduced the time taken to allocate a substantive casework decision from 18 months to less than four months. That includes making all essential eligibility checks together with a preliminary assessment to make an initial interim payment of £10,000 wherever possible.

[Vicky Foxcroft]

In response to a parliamentary question, the former Immigration Minister, the right hon. Member for Newark (Robert Jenrick), confirmed that by April last year, 41 of the 6,122 Windrush compensation claimants had sadly died before their claims were settled—an increase of more than 100% since 2021. Will the Minister update us on how many applicants have now died while waiting for the Government to right the wrongs done to thousands of innocent survivors and their families?

[Laura Farris]

I can confirm that we have been made aware of 53 claimants who have unfortunately passed away. I want to provide the hon. Lady with two reassurances: first, if we are notified an individual is suffering from a critical or life-limiting illness, their claim is prioritised; secondly, if they do pass away, their family are still able to pursue their claim.