Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many young people have been (a) allocated to a local authority and (b) have yet to be relocated under the National Transfer Scheme.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The most recently available information is regularly published on the government website.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many young people have been referred by Kent County Council to the National Transfer Scheme in each of the last three months.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The most recently available information is regularly published on the government website.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many young people are awaiting allocation to a transfer to an authority under the National Transfer Scheme.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The most recently available information is regularly published on the government website.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied asylum-seeking children arrived in Kent in each of the last three months.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The most recently available information is regularly published on the government website.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many young people have been referred onto the National Transfer Scheme in each of the last three months.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The most recently available information is regularly published on the government website.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of introducing a new Safety of Women at Night Fund.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The independent evaluation of the Safety of Women at Night (SWaN) Fund, worth £5 million and delivered over the 2021/22 financial year, was published on 10 April.
Learnings from the SWaN Fund were incorporated into rounds Four and Five of the Safer Streets Fund, worth £50m and £35m respectively, which included a primary objective around combatting violence against women and girls in public spaces, and have funded a range of interventions including CCTV, streetlighting and educational initiatives with a focus on changing attitudes and behaviours. Round five is currently ongoing.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing time limits on asylum cases for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office takes our duty of care towards children and young people extremely seriously and we prioritise applications from children and young people.
The Home Office does not currently have a target time for processing applications for asylum, but is committed to ensuring claims are considered without unnecessary delay. We have already made progress in prioritising claims with acute vulnerability and those in receipt of the greatest level of support, including Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children.
Introducing a service standard for asylum claims is a complex consideration which needs to be balanced between the requirements of operational efficiency, the needs of service users and the integrity of asylum control measures, including the implementation of the Illegal Migration Act. A project to review these considerations, along with scope and potential implementation timescales, will be undertaken. Once the project is completed, a final decision will be taken on any potential asylum claim service standards.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of No Recourse to Public Funds on people who are (a) destitute and (b) facing destitution.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office is committed to the continuous review of the NRPF policy and are engaging with public and private sector organisations on a regular basis to understand the impacts of the NRPF condition.
The Government published an overarching Equality Impact Assessment on the Compliant Environment measures, of which No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) is part; Compliant environment: overarching equality impact assessment (accessible) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
In general, temporary migrants are expected to support themselves and any accompanying family members in the UK without recourse to public funds. This is a well-established principle that protects taxpayer-funded public services from becoming overburdened.
Nonetheless, there are important safeguards in place for those in genuine need. Migrants with permission under the Family or Private Life routes, or the Hong Kong British National (Overseas) routes, can apply, for free, to have their NRPF condition lifted by making a ‘Change of Conditions’ application. An individual on these routes can apply to have their NRPF condition lifted if they are destitute or at risk of imminent destitution, if there are reasons relating to the welfare of a relevant child, or where they are facing exceptional circumstances affecting their income or expenditure.
For all other immigration routes (other than Family or Private Life, or the Hong Kong BN(O) routes), the general expectation is that they will return to their home country should they become unable to meet their essential living needs in the UK. If there are particularly compelling circumstances why leaving the UK is not possible, discretion can be used to consider if the circumstances justify access to public funds.
Local authorities may also provide basic safety net support, regardless of immigration status, if it is established either that there is a risk to the wellbeing of a child or there is a genuine care need that does not arise solely from destitution: for example, where a person has community care needs or serious health problems. Support provided to a child by local authorities is not dependent on the immigration status of the child or their parent(s).
Migrants with NRPF who have paid the necessary National Insurance contributions or have relevant periods of employment or self-employment, can claim contributory benefits and statutory payments such as New Style Jobseekers Allowance, Statutory Sick Pay, and the State Pension.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will consider the potential merits of implementing a method for members of the public to report directly and anonymously suspected child exploitation.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
Since 2019, The Home Office has provided £3.9m to the Children’s Society’s Prevention Programme, which drives targeted action to respond to exploitation. The programme has reached over 56,000 people and works with 35 police force areas on the #LookCloser campaign delivered in partnership between The Children’s Society, the National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC) and the British Transport Police (BTP). The #LookCloser campaign’s focus is on improving public and business sector awareness of exploitation and abuse, and everyone’s role in spotting and reporting concerns.
The Government is also acting quickly to implement mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse in England, which introduces a new legal requirement for those in roles with responsibility for children to speak out when a child is being sexually abused. Following the conclusion of a call for evidence over the Summer, and a public consultation, the Government announced it will introduce mandatory reporting via amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill. The Government has listened to the voices of victims and survivors and will deliver deep-rooted change to ensure children are never again so badly let down by the very institutions that should have protected them.
If anyone has any concerns that a child is being exploited, the government strongly encourages them to report those concerns to the police or to contact the children’s social care team at their local council. Members of the public can also contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, NSPCC Helpline or ChildLine to discuss their concerns and get confidential advice.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps members of the public can take to report suspected cases of child exploitation.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
Since 2019, The Home Office has provided £3.9m to the Children’s Society’s Prevention Programme, which drives targeted action to respond to exploitation. The programme has reached over 56,000 people and works with 35 police force areas on the #LookCloser campaign delivered in partnership between The Children’s Society, the National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC) and the British Transport Police (BTP). The #LookCloser campaign’s focus is on improving public and business sector awareness of exploitation and abuse, and everyone’s role in spotting and reporting concerns.
The Government is also acting quickly to implement mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse in England, which introduces a new legal requirement for those in roles with responsibility for children to speak out when a child is being sexually abused. Following the conclusion of a call for evidence over the Summer, and a public consultation, the Government announced it will introduce mandatory reporting via amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill. The Government has listened to the voices of victims and survivors and will deliver deep-rooted change to ensure children are never again so badly let down by the very institutions that should have protected them.
If anyone has any concerns that a child is being exploited, the government strongly encourages them to report those concerns to the police or to contact the children’s social care team at their local council. Members of the public can also contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, NSPCC Helpline or ChildLine to discuss their concerns and get confidential advice.