Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the total capital cost to the government of customs check posts since the UK EU withdrawal.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The information requested could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential security risks associated with rapid increases in temporary recruitment in the delivery sector during peak shopping periods.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has not made such an assessment. It is for companies in the delivery sector to act to ensure their employees are of good standing, and that appropriate and proportionate background checks are undertaken where this is deemed to be necessary.
In relation to Royal Mail, Ofcom’s regulatory framework places obligations on them, as the universal service provider, in relation to recruitment, training of employees (including temporary workers) and on security of the mail processes for employees. This does not apply to other delivery operators.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Chinese nationals have gained a visa through the Graduate Route in each year since 2021, broken down by (a) undergraduates, and (b) postgraduates.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The information requested is not available from published statistics; nor do we break down the data as requested and we are unable to answer without disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Earl Attlee (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether West Yorkshire Police has been supplied, or been wholly or partially funded for, any cars or light vehicles by His Majesty's Government directly, indirectly, or through agents or sub-contractors in connection with or via the Transpennine Route Upgrade project.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Police forces in England and Wales are operationally independent of Government. Decisions on the procurement or allocation of resources, including vehicles, are matters for Chief Constables and directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners or equivalents and are not matters the Home Office would routinely be involved in.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had recent discussions with Anas Sarwar MSP the potential merits of introducing a Scottish visa.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We have no plans to devolve immigration policy, introduce a Scottish visa scheme, nor to discuss such ideas further.
Previously suggested schemes would restrict movement and rights and create internal UK borders. Adding different rules for different locations would introduce complexity and create frictions where workers move locations.
Asked by: Cat Eccles (Labour - Stourbridge)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many deportation appeals that were successful at the First Tier Tribunal were later overturned at the Upper Tribunal in the past five years.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lincoln Jopp (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government is purchasing houses in multiple occupation in Spelthorne to accommodate asylum seekers.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has a statutory obligation to provide accommodation and support to destitute asylum seekers while their claims are considered. The procurement and management of Asylum accommodation is undertaken via the accommodation providers and is conducted in line with the Asylum Accommodation and Support Contracts, which are available at: Contracts Finder - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Procurement of accommodation by the contracted providers is undertaken in line with the Asylum Accommodation Plans, which ensures the distribution of asylum seekers is balanced across local authorities across the UK. This approach is designed to prevent any single area from being overburdened and to promote a fair, evidence-based allocation of asylum accommodation nationwide.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the outstanding profit share from asylum hotel providers owed to the home office, broken down by provider.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has to date received £45.9m in excess profits from its Asylum Accommodation and Support Contract Providers.
Discussions are currently underway with providers in relation to the return of remaining excess profits under the contractual terms.
It is not possible to give any further breakdown.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of current measures to deter antisocial behaviour in car parks in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.
Under the Government's Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, we are putting neighbourhood officers back into communities and restoring public confidence by bringing back community-led, visible policing. Surrey Police will receive £2,588,427 as part of the funding settlement for 2025-26.
In addition, the Home Office is providing £66.3 million funding in 2025-26 to all 43 forces in England and Wales to deliver high visibility patrols in the areas worst affected by knife crime, serious violence and anti-social behaviour. As part of the Hotspot Action Fund, Surrey Police will be in receipt of £1,000,000.
Following on from the Safer Streets Summer Initiative, the Home Secretary has announced a "Winter of Action" in which police forces across England and Wales will again partner with local businesses, councils and other agencies to tackle anti-social behaviour and other local issues that matter most to their communities.
In February, we introduced the new Respect Order in the Crime and Policing Bill, along with a range of other enhancements to the existing ASB powers. Respect Orders will be behavioural orders, issued by the civil courts. They will enable courts to ban adult offenders from engaging in harmful anti-social behaviours and can also compel adult perpetrators to take action to address the root cause of their behaviour. Breach of the order will be a criminal offence, allowing the police to immediately arrest anyone suspected of breach. Courts will have a wide range of sentencing options, including community orders, unlimited fines and, for the most severe cases, imprisonment.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support police forces in tackling shoplifting in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Shop theft continues to increase at an unacceptable level. We will not stand for this.
We are ensuring the right powers are in place. Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are bringing in a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores. We are also removing the legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence, sending a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously.
Additionally, we are providing over £7 million over the next three years to support the police and retailers tackle retail crime, including continuing to fund a specialist policing team – in partnership with the retail sector - to better understand the tactics used by organised retail crime gangs and identify more offenders.
Tackling retail crime requires a partnership approach between policing representatives and business. The previous Minister for Crime and Policing launched the ‘Tackling Retail Crime Together Strategy’, which was jointly developed by the police and industry and aims to provide a collaborative and evidence-based approach to preventing retail crime.