Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason some covid-19-related offences were recordable; and in what circumstances those offences would need to be disclosed.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Recordable offences are offences in England and Wales where the police must keep records of convictions and offenders on the Police National Computer (PNC). Non-recordable offences do not carry the risk of a custodial sentence. All coronavirus breaches were non-recordable summary offences which did not come with prison sentences. They were only punishable by fines. These offences were therefore unlikely to be recorded on the PNC. However, there may have been cases where a non-recordable offence could be recorded on the PNC if there was a conviction of both a recordable and non-recordable offence at the same time.
Under the coronavirus regulations, Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) enabled individuals to discharge their liability to prosecution for an offence by payment of a fixed penalty. However, failure to pay the notice could mean someone was later prosecuted, and subject to a summary conviction. Individuals convicted for a covid related offence would generally not have their conviction recorded on the PNC as Covid offences were non- recordable.
Non-recordable offences are held locally by the police and may be recorded on the Police National Database (PND) which is a separate system from the PNC, and include details of people who may have been questioned by police but not charged. Where individuals have their Covid offence recorded this conviction may be disclosed on a DBS certificate, subject to the type of certificate and whether the conviction is spent/unspent and/or protected. Once a conviction or caution is considered to be spent, it is usually not necessary for an individual to declare it to prospective employers when applying for a job, and it would not be disclosed on a basic criminal record certificate.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the asylum seeker cap for local authority areas will continue to be applied when seeking accommodation for refugees (a) from Ukraine and (b) not from Ukraine.
Answered by Kevin Foster
There are no limits on the number of refugees (those who have been granted asylum or humanitarian protection) which a Local Authority can house if appropriate accommodation can be identified.
We continue to encourage all local authorities to work with us to support providing accommodation in their areas for those who are resettled or claim asylum in the UK.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which external stakeholders his Department plans to consult as part of the upcoming review and update of statutory guidance for local authorities on unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Department for Education (DfE) publishes guidance for local authorities on unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, which can be found at:
The department is committed to updating this guidance in due course, and will carry out a public consultation which will be available to all external stakeholders when it does so.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with local authorities that are at or nearing the cap for accommodating refugees about future placements; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Kevin Foster
There are no limits on the number of refugees (those who have been granted asylum or humanitarian protection) that a Local Authority can house.
In relation to supported asylum seekers, who are awaiting the outcome of their asylum claim, then the Home Office would not normally disperse people above the ratio of 1:200. We are working with the Home Office Local Government Chief Executive group to ensure a more equitable distribution of asylum seekers across the whole of the UK.
We continue to encourage all local authorities to work with us to support providing accommodation in their areas for those who are resettled or claim asylum in the UK.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to change the Common Travel Area arrangements with Ireland; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The UK Government is firmly committed to maintaining the Common Travel Area (CTA) arrangements, and the reciprocal rights and privileges it provides to British and Irish citizens. This is an objective shared by all CTA members.
There is a high level of cooperation between all CTA members to ensure we are taking all the necessary measures to protect and secure the CTA.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the recruitment process will be for members of the proposed National Age Assessment Board.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The National Age Assessment Board will predominantly consist of qualified social workers who, through being dedicated to the task of conducting age assessments and the sharing of expertise, will seek to achieve a consistent and accurate approach to the task of age assessment.
The board will have responsibility for conducting age assessments on age disputed persons, upon referral from a local authority, although local authorities will still retain the right to conduct age assessments themselves if they prefer to do so.
Recruitment plans for the Board are still in development and will be in line with Civil Service recruitment policy and processes. The development of the recruitment plans will include engagement with relevant partners. There is no intention to publish the names of members of staff of the NAAB.
A gov.uk webpage is being created for the Age Estimation Scientific Advisory Council and will contain a list of committee members.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the membership of the proposed National Age Assessment Board will be made public.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The National Age Assessment Board will predominantly consist of qualified social workers who, through being dedicated to the task of conducting age assessments and the sharing of expertise, will seek to achieve a consistent and accurate approach to the task of age assessment.
The board will have responsibility for conducting age assessments on age disputed persons, upon referral from a local authority, although local authorities will still retain the right to conduct age assessments themselves if they prefer to do so.
Recruitment plans for the Board are still in development and will be in line with Civil Service recruitment policy and processes. The development of the recruitment plans will include engagement with relevant partners. There is no intention to publish the names of members of staff of the NAAB.
A gov.uk webpage is being created for the Age Estimation Scientific Advisory Council and will contain a list of committee members.