Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many vacancies in the probation service there were in each region on 1 January 2024.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The workforce position, at 31 December 2023, was 20,806 full-time equivalent (FTE) Staff in Post working in Probation Service grades (including those working in Approved Premises). This is an increase of 1,856 FTE (9.8%) since 31 December 2022.
Recruitment and retention remain a priority across the Probation Service and we have injected extra funding of more than £155 million a year since 2021 to deliver more robust supervision, recruit more staff and reduce caseloads to keep the public safer.
We have recruited a record 4,039 trainee Probation Officers between 2020/21 and 2022/23 and we expect these intakes to qualify by the end of 2024 and begin to take on Probation Officer caseloads.
Trainee Probation Officers are onboarded twice annually (including this March which will not be counted in the figures below), and this can lead to fluctuations in staffing levels across the year.
We will continue to run centralised recruitment campaigns in priority regions to help bolster the number of applications.
Table One: Vacancies across Probation Service Regions, December 2023, all Probation Service grades.
Probation Service Region | Vacancies (FTE) |
PS East Midlands | 21 |
PS East of England | 277 |
PS Greater Manchester | 15 |
PS Kent, Surrey & Sussex | 121 |
PS London | 463 |
PS North East | 50 |
PS North West | 128 |
PS South Central | 154 |
PS South West | 85 |
PS Wales | 0 |
PS West Midlands | 82 |
PS Yorkshire & the Humber | 45 |
PS Approved Premises | 0 |
Notes
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has held recent discussions with disability advocacy groups on the (a) development and (b) implementation of personal emergency evacuation plans for disabled residents.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Home Office officials have met with the Disability Rights UK, the Royal National Institute of Blind People, Deafblind UK, the Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People, Inclusion London, the Disability Resource Centre and United Response, and have sought engagement with further advocacy groups (which was not taken up).
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Institute for Public Policy Research report State of the North 2024: Charting the Course for a Decade of Renewal, published in March, what steps they are taking to address the widening gap in employment between London and the rest of England.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
This Government has made significant progress in creating jobs across the whole of England, and we are taking further steps to reduce regional disparities in employment. The Living Standards mission in the Levelling Up White Paper commits to increasing pay, employment and productivity in every region of the UK by 2030.
The refocussed Investment Zones programme covers eight places across the North and Midlands, providing more jobs in places and levelling up the economy. Additionally, all eight English Freeports are open for business, unlocking investment into port communities and their hinterlands and bringing jobs to these areas.
Following trailblazer deals agreed with the West Midlands and Greater Manchester in March 2023, further trailblazing provisions have been agreed with the North East, enabling local leaders to drive growth in key sectors and tailor local employment support approaches and initiatives that address needs in the area.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of notices given to asylum seekers to leave accommodation provided by his Department on trends in the level of demand for local government homelessness services in Greater Manchester.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Since September 2023, all individuals receive a minimum of 28 days’ support (including accommodation) after having been issued with a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP). There are no current plans to extend the 28 days prescribed in legislation due to the huge pressures on the asylum system.
We offer move on support to all individuals through Migrant Help or their partner organisation. This includes providing advice on accessing the labour market, on applying for Universal Credit and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing. Individuals do not need to wait for their BRP to make a claim for benefits and are encouraged to do so as early as possible if they require them.
We work closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to ensure the right asylum decision data is being shared with local authorities to enable effective planning and to lessen the impact on existing homelessness and rough sleeping pressures. Our accommodation providers are directly working with local authorities to notify them when an individual is due to have their asylum support ended.
We are working with our partners, including local authorities, to provide timely notification of key events that impact them. We are working with our Strategic Migration Partners (SMPs) to facilitate regional sessions with councils and to share data.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions he has had with local councils in Greater Manchester on the potential availability of housing for refugees who have reached the end of their move-on period.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Since September 2023, all individuals receive a minimum of 28 days’ support (including accommodation) after having been issued with a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP). There are no current plans to extend the 28 days prescribed in legislation due to the huge pressures on the asylum system.
We offer move on support to all individuals through Migrant Help or their partner organisation. This includes providing advice on accessing the labour market, on applying for Universal Credit and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing. Individuals do not need to wait for their BRP to make a claim for benefits and are encouraged to do so as early as possible if they require them.
We work closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to ensure the right asylum decision data is being shared with local authorities to enable effective planning and to lessen the impact on existing homelessness and rough sleeping pressures. Our accommodation providers are directly working with local authorities to notify them when an individual is due to have their asylum support ended.
We are working with our partners, including local authorities, to provide timely notification of key events that impact them. We are working with our Strategic Migration Partners (SMPs) to facilitate regional sessions with councils and to share data.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had discussions with local councils in Greater Manchester on the notice period given by accommodation providers when an individual is due to have their asylum support ended.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Since September 2023, all individuals receive a minimum of 28 days’ support (including accommodation) after having been issued with a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP). There are no current plans to extend the 28 days prescribed in legislation due to the huge pressures on the asylum system.
We offer move on support to all individuals through Migrant Help or their partner organisation. This includes providing advice on accessing the labour market, on applying for Universal Credit and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing. Individuals do not need to wait for their BRP to make a claim for benefits and are encouraged to do so as early as possible if they require them.
We work closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to ensure the right asylum decision data is being shared with local authorities to enable effective planning and to lessen the impact on existing homelessness and rough sleeping pressures. Our accommodation providers are directly working with local authorities to notify them when an individual is due to have their asylum support ended.
We are working with our partners, including local authorities, to provide timely notification of key events that impact them. We are working with our Strategic Migration Partners (SMPs) to facilitate regional sessions with councils and to share data.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department is engaging with (a) local authorities and (b) mayoral combined authorities on (i) branding and (ii) promotion of (A) science, (B) technology and (C) innovation.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As part of the government’s devolution deals, DSIT is committed to working with Mayoral Combined Authorities to strengthen collaboration on science, innovation and technology.
Through the Innovation Accelerator programme, DSIT with UKRI and DBT are championing the UK’s science, technology and innovation offer and promoting regionally-led activities in Glasgow, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands.
Great campaigns promote UK export or investment opportunities. The GREAT.gov.uk website provides support for UK companies, overseas buyers and overseas investors into the UK for a broad range of sectors including science and technology.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to use funds saved by the cancellation of HS2 Phase 2f to tackle problems on rail links between Birmingham and Manchester.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
As announced in the Network North command paper, every penny of the £19.8 billion committed to the Northern leg of HS2 will be reinvested in the North; every penny of the £9.6 billion committed to the Midlands leg will be reinvested in the Midlands; and the full £6.5 billion saved through our rescoped approach at Euston will be spread across every other region in the country.
Network North provided £500m to improve rail capacity North of Birmingham and work is ongoing to develop value for money interventions using these funds. This includes upgrades around Handsacre, where the HS2 line joins the West Coast Mainline, and other potential enhancements on the network.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent discussions he has had with local councils in Greater Manchester on the potential availability of housing for refugees who have reached the end of their move-on period.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Ministers have discussions with local councils on a range of issues.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to introduce step-free access at Heaton Chapel Station.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The platforms at Heaton Chapel are accessible by ramp. There is not currently a lift, but Rail North Partnership (RNP) works closely with Northern Trains, Network Rail, Transport for the North and its members, including Transport for Greater Manchester, to identify opportunities to improve access to stations for every passenger in the North as part of the operator’s Annual Business Planning process.