Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether there is a functioning sprinkler system on the Bibby Stockholm.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Under Part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, the Home Office has a legal obligation to support asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute.
In the Netherlands and Belgium, the authorities have delivered accommodation for asylum seekers on vessels in a safe and secure manner.
The Bibby Stockholm vessel has been used for decades to provide safe and decent accommodation to oil rig workers and was used between 1995 to 1998 to accommodate refugees in Germany.
Corporate Travel Management (CTM) are responsible for managing the services on the barge. CTM, who managed two Scottish vessels housing refugees in Edinburgh, has a strong track record of providing this kind of accommodation, and we are confident that it can manage the vessel and its supporting services. CTM has worked closely and successfully with local authorities and other public and voluntary organisations in Scotland.
The Bibby Stockholm adheres to the Regulatory Reform Order (Fire Safety) 2005 and has an appropriate fire risk assessment that complies to those regulations including safety features such as fire doors, fire detection systems and firefighting equipment at strategic locations.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the level of hate crime committed against the Sikh community; and what steps her Department is taking to tackle such crime.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
All forms of racial and religious discrimination are abhorrent and have no place in our communities. The Government continues to work with police and community partners to monitor and combat crime.
The Home Office publishes statistics which can be found at: Hate crime, England and Wales, 2021 to 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department plans to issue guidance for properties under 18 meters on the requirements for completing Cladding External Wall System forms.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Fire Safety Act (2021) was clear that multi-occupancy residential buildings, regardless of height, must have an up-to-date fire risk assessment that includes the external walls
Separately, the External Wall System Fire Review (EWS1) form is an industry-produced valuation tool to aid valuers and lenders to assess high rise properties. The EWS1 form is not a safety certificate, and it is not a legal or Government requirement. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) have issued guidance on its use and application. This guidance makes clear when a valuer surveyor working for a mortgage lender should use the EWS1 process. A surveyor has to justify any request for an EWS1 form.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to allow people seeking asylum housed in the Bibby Stockholm barge to enter and leave the barge (a) during the day and (b) at night.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The statutory inspection was carried out prior to the Home Office taking control of the barge.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 July 2023 to Question 191863 on Asylum: Falmouth, if her Department will publish the results of the statutory inspection.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The statutory inspection was carried out prior to the Home Office taking control of the barge.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 25 July 2023 to Question 194955 on Asylum: Boats, if her Department will publish the Equality Impact Assessment completed for the Bibby Stockholm.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Equality Impact Assessment (EqiA) documentation is for internal use and therefore is not routinely published.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to conduct a review of the funding formula for Police Forces.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The government recognises that the current police funding formula is out of date and no longer accurately reflects demand on policing. A review of the funding formula was launched in Autumn 2021 to ensure that it fairly and transparently distributes the circa £8.6bn of annual core grant funding across the 43 police forces in England and Wales.
We are working towards completing the first phase of the review and are considering the demands facing each police force and the relative impact of local factors on forces. We have engaged closely with the policing sector throughout the review, and this work continues.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department had discussions with the Home Department on the suitability of the Bibby Stockholm as accommodation.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Developing accommodation sites for asylum seekers is a priority for the Government and officials from the Department of Health and Social Care are working with the Home Office and other Government departments to support delivery of these sites, including the Bibby Stockholm vessel at Portland Port.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department had discussions with the Home Department on the suitability of the Bibby Stockholm as accommodation.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to provide indefinite leave to remain to Sudanese families in Coventry who were recently granted six-months leave to enter the UK.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Where a person has leave in the UK but is unable to return home they should apply for Leave Outside the Rules using the FLR(HRO) form Application to extend stay in the UK: FLR(HRO) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Each case will be assessed on its merits.
If they are unable to afford the fee then a fee waiver application can be made here: fee waiver application form