Asked by: Baroness Eaton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they had with Canterbury City Council before allocating property on Herne Bay High Street as asylum accommodation.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Asylum Accommodation Services Contracts set out a number of principles in relation to working with local authorities, and other stakeholders including consultation and liaison regarding the location of accommodation and other issues, ranging from security controls to the impact on local amenities.
It is through this consultation and liaison that local authorities may raise any objection to specific properties being used as asylum accommodation, including on behalf of the local people they represent.
Asked by: Baroness Eaton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what engagement they carried out with the local community before allocating the King's Gap Hotel in Hoylake as accommodation for single males seeking asylum.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office engaged with Wirral Borough council a number of times and remain committed to engaging with local authorities and key stakeholders to identify and mitigate potential risks and address community concerns regarding asylum accommodation.
The Home Office is committed to engaging with local authorities and other stakeholders to understand and mitigate any risks to and concerns of the wider community. This includes working closely with the police and other agencies in matters relating to the operation of the sites, safety, and security.’
Asked by: Baroness Eaton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they had with Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council before allocating the King's Gap Hotel in Hoylake as accommodation for single males seeking asylum.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office engaged with Wirral Borough council a number of times and remain committed to engaging with local authorities and key stakeholders to identify and mitigate potential risks and address community concerns regarding asylum accommodation.
The Home Office is committed to engaging with local authorities and other stakeholders to understand and mitigate any risks to and concerns of the wider community. This includes working closely with the police and other agencies in matters relating to the operation of the sites, safety, and security.’
Asked by: Baroness Eaton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will amend the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 to make it easier for local authorities to carry out covert surveillance in areas with a high incidence of fly tipping.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Since 2012, local authority authorisations for directed surveillance under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 have been subject to enhanced arrangements. This includes a requirement for local authorities to obtain prior judicial approval before conducting activity and for that activity to be for the purpose of preventing or detecting criminal offences that are punishable by at least six months' imprisonment.
The Government believes that these additional safeguards remain important to strike the right balance in protecting rights while ensuring local authorities have the ability to authorise directed surveillance to investigate offences in an appropriate and lawful manner, which can include the investigation of the criminal offence of fly tipping.
The Government keeps all legislation related to investigatory powers under review.
Asked by: Baroness Eaton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether, before selecting hotels as accommodation for asylum seekers, it is their policy to consult the chief executives and leaders of affected local authorities.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government inherited an asylum system under exceptional strain, with tens of thousands of people stuck in limbo without any prospect of having their claims processed. At their peak use under the previous Government, in the autumn of 2023, more than 400 asylum hotels were being leased by the Home Office, at a cost of almost £9 million a day.
Inevitably, due to the size of the backlog we inherited, the Government has been forced to continue with the use of hotels for the time being. It remains our absolute commitment to end the use of hotels over time, as part of our reduction in overall asylum accommodation costs.
When a hotel has been identified for use as contingency accommodation, Home Office officials will write to the local authority Chief Executive and the constituency MP to inform them of plans to accommodate asylum seekers there.
The Home Office continues to work closely with local authorities to manage all the pressures arising from the provision of asylum accommodation including the impact on wider local authority obligations and plans.
Asked by: Baroness Eaton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend the Prevent programme to continue to fund Prevent education officers.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office will continue to provide dedicated Prevent funding to 27 local authorities considered to face the highest threat from terrorism to help them to go above and beyond the requirements of the statutory Prevent duty. This funding can be used by local authorities to fund dedicated Prevent posts, including Prevent Education Officers.
Asked by: Baroness Eaton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to consult local authorities before Government contractors decide to use hotels in those respective areas for the purpose of housing asylum seekers.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
In ensuring that views of key external stakeholders are sought and partners engaged with, the Home Office has dedicated Regional Engagement Leads who liaise directly with local authorities or via Regional Strategic Migration Partnerships (SMP). SMPs are Local Government led partnerships funded by, but independent of, the Home Office, whose role is to coordinate and support delivery of national programmes in asylum and refugee schemes as well as agreed regional and devolved migration priorities.
Asked by: Baroness Eaton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to allowing local authorities to veto the use of hotels for the purpose of housing asylum seekers in their respective areas.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
In ensuring that views of key external stakeholders are sought and partners engaged with, the Home Office has dedicated Regional Engagement Leads who liaise directly with local authorities or via Regional Strategic Migration Partnerships (SMP). SMPs are Local Government led partnerships funded by, but independent of, the Home Office, whose role is to coordinate and support delivery of national programmes in asylum and refugee schemes as well as agreed regional and devolved migration priorities.
Asked by: Baroness Eaton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are taking steps to ensure that the freedom to pray silently will be upheld when section 9 of the Public Order Act 2023 comes into effect.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Section 9 of the Public Order Act 2023 does not make any reference to silent prayer.
Section 9 makes it a criminal offence for a person who is within a Safe Access Zone to do any act with the intent of, or reckless as to whether it has the effect of, influencing any person’s decision to access, provide or facilitate the provision of abortion services, obstructing or impeding any person accessing, providing, or facilitating the provision of abortion services, or causing harassment, alarm or distress to any person in connection with a decision to access, provide, or facilitate the provision of abortion services.
Asked by: Baroness Eaton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of establishing a specific policing unit to support local councillors who are experiencing threats and intimidation.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The safety of our elected representatives is essential to the security of our country. All elected representatives should be able to participate fully in our democracy, without fear for their safety and security. Instances of abuse, intimidation and criminal offences are unacceptable, and that is why the Government will take every possible step to safeguard the people, processes, and institutions upon which our democracy relies.
On 28th February the Prime Minister announced the Government was investing an additional £31 million in funding to protect the democratic process and our elected representatives. Through this funding we are enhancing police capabilities, increasing private sector security provision for those facing a higher risk, and expanding cyber security advice to elected representatives.
The investment also enables the expansion of the Operation BRIDGER network, which already provides support to MPs, so that all elected representatives and candidates are given a dedicated, police contact to liaise with on security matters, where needed. Through this network elected representatives – including local councillors - will have access to security briefings from their local force.
The funding is accompanied by a new Defending Democracy Policing Protocol, agreed with police to enhance the safety of elected representatives, and protect the UK’s democratic process from disruption. Further information about the Protocol is available on GOV.UK.
The Defending Democracy Taskforce will continue to review the effectiveness of arrangements for protective security of elected representatives.