Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of victims of slavery who are due a subsistence rate back payment are no longer receiving support through the asylum system.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Government is making every effort to pay back everyone affected by the subsistence rate contract changes for asylum-seeking victims of modern slavery made in March 2018.
Based on the current data, we have identified 1,208 potential victims of trafficking that have been affected and are entitled to back payments. 989 of those affected are still in both National Referral Mechanism (NRM) and asylum support, 150 are no longer in NRM support but are still in asylum support, and 69 are no longer in either NRM or asylum support.
On 24 January 2019, personalised letters were sent out to all those we identified as being affected and eligible for repayments. For those still in support, the letters detailed how much and how they will be paid. For those who have left support, the letters explained how to apply for these pay-ments.
If an individual believes they are eligible but does not receive a letter, they can complete an application form on gov.uk. There is no closing date for when people can apply for back payments if they think they are eligible. Further information is available on gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-subsistence-rates-back-payment-victims-of-modern-slavery).
We are not releasing the number of people who have already applied through the application form on gov.uk as this is an ongoing process and we will be working with these individuals to ensure those who are eligible are paid.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many victims of slavery who are no longer receiving support through the asylum system (a) have applied for a subsistence rate back payment and (b) are yet to apply for a back payment.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Government is making every effort to pay back everyone affected by the subsistence rate contract changes for asylum-seeking victims of modern slavery made in March 2018.
Based on the current data, we have identified 1,208 potential victims of trafficking that have been affected and are entitled to back payments. 989 of those affected are still in both National Referral Mechanism (NRM) and asylum support, 150 are no longer in NRM support but are still in asylum support, and 69 are no longer in either NRM or asylum support.
On 24 January 2019, personalised letters were sent out to all those we identified as being affected and eligible for repayments. For those still in support, the letters detailed how much and how they will be paid. For those who have left support, the letters explained how to apply for these pay-ments.
If an individual believes they are eligible but does not receive a letter, they can complete an application form on gov.uk. There is no closing date for when people can apply for back payments if they think they are eligible. Further information is available on gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-subsistence-rates-back-payment-victims-of-modern-slavery).
We are not releasing the number of people who have already applied through the application form on gov.uk as this is an ongoing process and we will be working with these individuals to ensure those who are eligible are paid.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of staff in his Department including those employed in executive agencies and non-ministerial Departments declared a disability in 2017-18.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The 2018 Annual Civil Service Employment Survey showed that as at 31 March 2018, the proportion of Home Office staff who declared a disability is 8.9%.
Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC):
As at 31 March 2018, figures for staff who have declared a disability are as follows:
Disability | Number | % |
No | 996 | 95.4% |
Yes | 48 | 4.6% |
total | 1044 | 100% |
College of Policing:
The table below summarises the makeup of the College at 31 March 2018. This includes secondees and contractors in addition to College staff.
Disability | Volume | % total |
Disability declared | 20 | 3.1% |
No disability | 301 | 46.8% |
Prefer not to say | 15 | 2.3% |
Unknown/blank | 307 | 47.7% |
total | 643 | 100 |
Gangmasters & Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA):
1.63% of employees (FTE) declared a disability in 2017/18.
Security Industry Authority (SIA):
3.92% of the total staff headcount declared a disability in 2017/18.
Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC):
1.88% of employees (FTE) declared a disability in 2017/18.
Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS):
6.94% of the total staff headcount declared a disability in 2017/18
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which service providers are contracted to carry out third party cleaning contracts for his (a) Department and (b) executive agencies; if he will list all of the services delivered by third party contractors to his (i) Department and (ii) executive agencies; and how many people working for those third party contractors are paid less than the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Cleaning services for the Home Office and its executive agencies are out-sourced. The cleaning services for the majority of the Home Office estate are contracted out to Interserve and OCS. The cleaning of the department’s headquarters at 2 Marsham Street is the responsibility of the PFI provider.
The Home Office is not able to provide information regarding third party contractors and any sub-contractors to these without incurring dispropor-tionate cost, noting the wide range of services that could be in scope such as Overseas VACs, Transportation in IE/BF environment, provision for Premium Services and others
The Home Office does not hold data about what contractors pay
The Home Office requires all of its suppliers to comply with the legal mini-mum standards of pay as set out in the Government’s National Living Wage legislation. This is a contractual obligation on the supplier and is monitored through contract compliance mechanisms. We do not plan to require or stipulate in our contractual arrangements a requirement to meet the Living Wage Foundation’s rates.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of waiving the Immigration Health Surcharge for non-EEA nursing staff.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Government fully recognises the contribution that international healthcare professionals, including nurses, make to the UK and to our health service, but we are not convinced it would be appropriate to waive the immigration health surcharge for this group.
Other providers of public services, such as teachers, are required to pay the charge and it is only right that those who come to the UK for more than six months who will not have built up the same connection contribute to the running of the NHS. It is important to remember that the charge offers access to health care services that are more comprehensive and often at lower cost than many other countries. The income generated by surcharge payments goes directly to NHS services, helping to protect and sustain our world-class healthcare system for everyone who uses it.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2018 to Question 193378, with reference to the High Court Judgement in respect of K & Anor, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department of 8 November 2018, whether all victims of slavery have automatically received the new subsistence rate since that judgment.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government is committed to tacking the scourge of modern slavery and supporting those affected by this crime.
In 2017, Home Office Ministers agreed a comprehensive package of reforms to the National Referral Mechanism, which included the introduction of places of safety for those leaving situations of exploitation, trebling the period of move on support to assist victims moving out of government funded support and aligning the subsistence rates paid to potential victims of modern slavery with those received by asylum seekers.
In light of the judgment in K and AM, the Home Office has immediately reinstated the top up paid to those in the Victim Care Contract who are also receiving support from the asylum support system, so that they receive a total of £65 per week.
We are currently putting in place processes to ensure that those who have been affected receive a full back payment as soon as possible, and will set out how we plan to respond in due course, including our communications with all those affected.
We are committed to reforming the National Referral Mechanism to ensure that as many victims of modern slavery as possible get the support they need.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2018 to Question 193378, how many victims of slavery (a) have been paid a full back payment and (b) are due arrears.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government is committed to tacking the scourge of modern slavery and supporting those affected by this crime.
In 2017, Home Office Ministers agreed a comprehensive package of reforms to the National Referral Mechanism, which included the introduction of places of safety for those leaving situations of exploitation, trebling the period of move on support to assist victims moving out of government funded support and aligning the subsistence rates paid to potential victims of modern slavery with those received by asylum seekers.
In light of the judgment in K and AM, the Home Office has immediately reinstated the top up paid to those in the Victim Care Contract who are also receiving support from the asylum support system, so that they receive a total of £65 per week.
We are currently putting in place processes to ensure that those who have been affected receive a full back payment as soon as possible, and will set out how we plan to respond in due course, including our communications with all those affected.
We are committed to reforming the National Referral Mechanism to ensure that as many victims of modern slavery as possible get the support they need.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children of Windrush generation immigrants have been deported; and of those how many have died since their deportation.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The department does not hold this information.
On 16 April, the Home Office established a Taskforce to ensure that mem-bers of the Windrush generation were able to evidence their right to be in the UK. Subsequently, on 24 May the Home Secretary laid a Written Ministerial Statement setting out the Windrush Scheme, which ensures that members of this generation, their children born in the UK and those who arrived in the UK as minors will be able to apply to the Taskforce for citizenship, or various other immigration products, free of charge.
The scheme came into force on 30 May.The Department has provided an update on its response to the problems affecting members of the Windrush generation to the Home Affairs Select Committee on a monthly basis.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children of Windrush generation immigrants have an immigration case review (a) pending and (b) that has been completed.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
At the HASC evidence session on Tuesday 15 May, the Home Secretary committed to providing the HASC with regular updates on the work of the department in relation to Windrush. The most recent update was published on 12 November 2018.
The number of ‘live’ applications is subject to change on a frequent basis as applications are received and concluded daily. Data would only be accurate at the time it was generated, with any Answer potentially being inaccurate at the time of release. Providing a running commentary on the breakdown of cases would not be cost and resource effective.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many meetings his predecessors had with the Metropolitan police on (a) investigating and (b) prosecuting Lutfur Rahman for (i) voter fraud and (ii) other criminal offences relating to his former role as elected executive mayor of the London borough of Tower Hamlets after he was named in an election petition in June 2014.
Answered by Nick Hurd
There have been no Ministerial meetings with the Metropolitan Police Service concerning this case.
Decisions to investigate and / or subsequently prosecute an individual are operational decisions for the respective police force and Crown Prosecution Service to make. It would therefore not be appropriate for Ministers to comment on such matters.