Asked by: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how Rwanda compares in population density with (1) China, (2) Russia, (3) the USA, (4) Australia, (5) Libya, (6) France, (7) Spain, (8) Germany, (9) the UK, and (10) Greece; and how relevant they regard that measure in their policy for transporting migrants from the UK to Rwanda.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The table below shows the estimated population density (the number of people per square kilometre) of the countries listed based on UN statistics published in October 20231. The countries are ordered as in the question plus Rwanda at 11:
| Country | Population density |
1 | China2 | 148.5 |
2 | Russia | 8.8 |
3 | United States of America | 37.0 |
4 | Australia | 3.4 |
5 | Libya | 4.1 |
6 | France | 117.2 |
7 | Spain | 94.7 |
8 | Germany | 239.2 |
9 | United Kingdom | 278.1 |
10 | Greece | 79.4 |
11 | Rwanda | 569.1 |
1 UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, ‘Statistical Yearbook 2023, Sixty-sixth issue’ (pages 15 to 35), October 2023
2 For statistical purposes, the UN data for China do not include the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region and Taiwan
Population was one of a range of factors that was considered when entering into the Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda.
Asked by: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 1 June 2018 (HL7992), how many members of Home Office staff have been convicted in connection with their official activities since 1 June 2018; and in each case, what was (1) the date, (2) the nature of the offence, and (3) the sentence received.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Since 1 June 2018 the Home Office has secured two convictions and two cautions of staff in connection with their official activities. All the officers were subject to appropriate disciplinary procedures.
The following table below shows the breakdown including the dates of those convictions.
Charges | Conviction Date | Sentence |
Bribery | 11/04/2019 | 3 years, 9 months |
Computer Misuse | 17/06/2022 | Police Caution |
Conspiracy to Assist Unlawful Immigration | 03/04/2023 | Awaiting sentence |
Computer Misuse | 26/04/2023 | Police Caution |
Asked by: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of Official Development Assistance (ODA) was spent on (1) responding to emergencies and other unpredictable events, (2) illegal immigration into the UK, and (3) payments to the government of France for measures to prevent or reduce illegal migration across the English Channel, in each of the last three years.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The Statistics on International Development (SID) National Statistics provides an overview of all UK spend on Official Development Assistance (ODA).
UK ODA spent on Humanitarian Aid activities, which includes Humanitarian Emergency Response ODA, for 2019, 2020 and 2021 (the latest three years available) are outlined in the SID Statistics. The proportions have been reported in respect to total bilateral UK ODA (otherwise known as earmarked ODA). The figures do not include the UK’s core contributions to humanitarian focused multilaterals, for instance the UK’s core funding to Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) in 2021 was £63.5m.
The Home Office does not have any ODA spend in relation to illegal migration or any payments to France (which is not an ODA eligible country).
Asked by: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Home Office officials have been convicted of abuse of public office in each of the last 10 years; and how many of those have been given custodial sentences.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Note: We have interpreted this question as referring to ‘Misconduct in Public Office’ (‘abuse of public office’ is not a criminal offence).
In the last ten years there have been seven Home Office officials who have been convicted of Misconduct in Public Office. All received a custodial sentence and all were convicted before 2015. Since then, the Crown Prosecution Service have moved towards using more specific charges such as theft, assisting unlawful immigration and bribery.
A breakdown for each year is provided below:
Year | Convicted of abuse of position | Custodial sentence received |
2012 | 3 | 3 |
2013 | 1 | 1 |
2014 | 1 | 1 |
2015 | 2 | 2 |
Asked by: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which bodies are currently proscribed as terrorist organisations.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The list of proscribed organisations is publicly available at the following link: Proscribed terrorist groups or organisations - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether recordings from road traffic cameras can be used by the police in investigating all types of crime.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Under the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, evidence from a road traffic enforcement device is obtained for certain motoring offences and used in court proceedings without the need for other corroborative evidence. Therefore, the use of road traffic cameras does not extend to all crime types.
Asked by: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many hotels in England are under contract to provide accommodation for immigrants whose right to enter and remain in the UK are being assessed; and what is the total number of people who are currently accommodated in this way.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
On the 30 September 2022 there were 252 hotels used to accommodate 34,900 asylum seekers in receipt of asylum support in England.
Asked by: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consultation they undertake with (1) district councils, and (2) parish councils, in whose area it is proposed to house immigrants awaiting assessment on their right to enter and remain in the UK.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The record number of people that have crossed the Channel in small boats in recent years has placed the Home Office’s asylum support infrastructure and accommodation services under immense pressure. Under the Immigration & Asylum Act 1999, the Home Office has a statutory obligation to provide asylum seekers, who would otherwise be destitute, with accommodation and support whilst their claim is under consideration. Eligible asylum seekers are ordinarily placed in housing accommodation; however, the unprecedented number of small boat arrivals has forced the Home Office to consider alternative accommodation options to ensure that we meet our statutory obligations, which has resulted in the temporary use of hotels.
The use of hotels is a short term solution and we are working hard with Local Authorities and our accommodation providers to find more appropriate accommodation.
We have taken immediate steps to improve levels of engagement with key stakeholders including district and parish councils, around hotel accommodation sites to ensure colleagues are kept updated and better informed and to ensure we understand and act on any concerns appropriately and swiftly. These minimum standards will be reviewed regularly and, where possible, we will take steps to improve these standards.
We work closely with local authorities on full asylum dispersal to create a fairer distribution across the UK.
We do not routinely engage with members of the public regarding utilising hotels.
Asked by: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to permanently exclude any person who is identified as (1) being, or (2) having been, a member of the Russian Wagner Group from entry to the UK.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office does not comment on individual cases.
Travel bans restrict the movement of identified individuals associated with regimes or groups whose behaviour is considered unacceptable by the international community. A person who is the subject of a travel ban is an excluded person under section 8B of the Immigration Act 1971 and cannot lawfully enter or remain in the UK.
The Home Secretary can exclude a foreign national, where it is conducive to the public good. The Immigration Rules also provide for the refusal of entry clearance or permission to enter at the border if a person’s presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good because of their conduct, character, associations or other reasons.
Asked by: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the screening of illegal immigrants includes a comparison with biometric details held by the EU in order to detect the entry of terrorists into the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Illegal migrants detected in the UK are subject to comprehensive identity and security checks, including biometric checks.