Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to review the contract with Clearsprings Ready Homes for the provision of accommodation services at Wethersfield asylum centre following recent concerns raised about rats on the site and food quality.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
There are currently no plans to review the providers delivering services at the Wethersfield site.
The Wethersfield site complies with safety, security, health and wellbeing standards. Procedures are in place to fix maintenance and safety issues quickly.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people with skills in (1) cybersecurity, and (2) artificial intelligence, have applied to settle in the UK in the past 12 months, and how many of those applications were successful.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not 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: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce ID cards for UK citizens; and, if so, what consideration they have given to the timescale and cost.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to making the state more efficient and easier to interact with through harnessing technology. We want to learn from countries who have digitised government services for the benefit of their citizens.
The Government will announce further details in due course.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect the first returns of illegal migrants to take place under the UK-France Returns Agreement.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Under the UK France returns agreement, the first arrivals have already been detained and readmission requests referred to France. We expect the first returns to start in the coming weeks.
The Home Office will provide further updates in due course.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what international agreements, if any, they are developing with other countries to try to reduce net migration to the UK; and when they anticipate any such agreements being concluded.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government’s Plan for Change sets out our ambition to secure borders and control immigration.
We are committed to strengthening existing relationships with international partners, including resetting our relationship with the EU and further deepening our co-operation with France, Germany and Italy. We have also been seeking out new international partnerships, and most recently signed a new agreement with the Government of Iraq to fast-track the repatriation of individuals with no legal right to remain in the UK.
We continue to have discussions with partners across the globe, strengthening our collaborative efforts to address migration challenges.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the incidence of theft of plants and shrubs from gardens; and what action they intend to take in response.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government recognises the distress and disruption that theft and vandalism can cause to local communities.
That’s why we’re putting 13,000 additional police personnel into neighbourhood policing roles by the end of the Parliament, with the first 3,000 in place this year. This will ensure that everyone has named, contactable officers they can turn to on local issues.
The 2025-26 final Police Funding Settlement provides funding of up to £19.6 billion for the policing system in England and Wales. This is an overall increase of up to £1.2 billion when compared with the 2024-25 settlement and includes an additional £200 million to kickstart the first phase of recruitment for the additional neighbourhood policing roles.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following comments by the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, what assessment they have made of the case for fewer and larger police forces.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
A White Paper will be published later this year including a new national centre of policing which will help drive greater consistency across policing.
We will listen to proposals from local forces on changes that could enhance policing and public safety.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks associated with their current practices in assessing incidents of religious and racial hatred; and what plans they have to change these practices.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Secretary has agreed that the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), supported by the College of Policing, will conduct a review on the use and effectiveness of non-crime hate incidents, including those incidents involving religious and racial hatred. The review will cover when the police should record information that has not yet reached the criminal threshold, but which is still deemed necessary to monitor community tensions and keep the public safe. It will also consider the fundamental right of freedom of expression and recent court rulings in this area. The Government welcomes this review and will work closely with the NPCC and the College as they develop their findings and any proposals.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, they have made of the benefits of limiting the amount of alcohol sold to customers in bars and restaurants at airports; and what consideration they have given to imposing such restrictions.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The vast majority of airline passengers drink responsibly when travelling.
However, individuals who are drunk can be denied from boarding an aircraft, and tough penalties are in place for being drunk and disruptive on an aircraft (including imprisonment for up to two years or an unlimited fine, or both).
A call for evidence carried out in 2019 on imposing licensing restrictions on airside premises did not provide new evidence to make a compelling case for additional restrictions.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many claims for compensation under the Windrush Compensation Scheme remain outstanding; and when they expect to settle the remaining claims.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The requested information can be found on Tab WCS_05 of Windrush Compensation Scheme data: July 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) released on 29 August 2024. As at end of July 2024, 856 compensation claims were in the Work in Progress category.
We will ensure the victims of the appalling Windrush scandal have their voices heard and the compensation scheme is run effectively, with a new Windrush Commissioner.