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Written Question
Prostitution
Monday 4th November 2019

Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to publish the report entitled Prostitution and sex work: nature and prevalence in England and Wales.

Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

As part of the Government’s response to the 2016 Home Affairs Select Committee report into prostitution, the Home Office provided £150,000 to fund research specifically into the nature and prevalence of prostitution in England and Wales.

This independent research was led by the University of Bristol and will enable us to inform an objective evidence base before we can consider any changes to policy and legislation in respect of prostitution.

The report was published on 30 October and is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nature-of-prostitution-and-sex-work-in-england-and-wales


Written Question
Home Office: Written Questions
Monday 4th November 2019

Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to answer Question 2871 tabled on 21 October 2019 by the hon. Member for Luton South.

Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

The response for UIN 2871 was answered on 4th November 2019.


Written Question
Immigration: EU Nationals
Monday 30th September 2019

Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of applicants to the EU Settlement Scheme who are resident in Luton who have (a) been granted settled status, (b) been granted pre-settled status and (c) had their application turned down in each year since the introduction of that scheme.

Answered by Brandon Lewis

Published information on EU Settlement Scheme applications by region and local authority can be found in the Home Office’s ‘EU Settlement Scheme quarterly statistics’, local authority statistics tables, table EUSS_LA, available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/826752/eu-settlement-scheme-local-authority-statistics-28-august-2018-to-30-june-2019.ods.

The latest published information on EU Settlement Scheme applications concluded for the UK can be found in the Home Office’s ‘EU Settlement Scheme monthly statistics’ available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/eu-settlement-scheme-statistics-august-2019. It was noted in this release that one application was refused on suitability grounds during the period from 1 August to 31 August 2019.

The available data is of applications received and processed since testing began on 28 August 2018, just over 12 months ago. The Home Office does not currently publish statistics on EU Settlement Scheme application outcomes by local authority.

The Home Office is committed to publishing more detailed quarterly statistics on the EU Settlement Scheme. Home Office statisticians are currently considering the content of the next quarterly release and will take into account the views of statistics users.


Written Question
Biometrics: Luton
Monday 22nd July 2019

Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the closure of the Crown post office in Luton on the accessibility to biometric information services for visa or immigration applications.

Answered by Caroline Nokes

Customers making immigration applications can no longer use Post Office branches to enrol their biometrics in the majority of cases. Most customers now enrol their biometrics at a UK Visas & Citizenship Application Service (UKVCAS) centre.

The previous service offered by the Post Office was biometric enrolment only, whereas the new UKVCAS service brings together multiple services to make the application process more streamlined.

The UKVCAS service is run by our commercial partner, Sopra Steria Ltd (SSL), who undertook market research to identify service locations; their research included the impact on customer travel time, cost and accessibility. The results of this were that 62% of customers will, on average, have to travel less than 25 miles to visit a core service point, with 78% travelling less than 50 miles.

SSL can also cater for customers who wish to have more flexible, on-demand, mobile application services, for example at university campuses, employers’ offices or individual customers’ homes.

As part of this contract SSL continuously captures and analyses customer feedback and reviews customer demand to ensure there is sufficient capacity. During May and June SSL opened six additional sites: Manchester, Cardiff, Exeter, Leeds, Sheffield and Edinburgh, with the view to open more.

For information on the closest core and enhanced service points to Luton, please see the UKVCAS website at: https://www.ukvcas.co.uk/locations.


Written Question
UK Visas and Immigration: Biometrics
Monday 15th July 2019

Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria his Department uses to determine the locations in the UK where biometric information for visa or immigration applications can be provided.

Answered by Caroline Nokes

The majority of customers will be able to submit their biometrics and supporting information for their visa application via a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Service (UK VCAS) centre, which are run by Sopra Steria Ltd (SSL) on behalf of UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI). However, Individuals who have higher needs, may be vulnerable, or whose circumstances may be complex and would benefit from face to face interaction with the Home Office are directed to Service and Support Centres (SSC) where they will receive support with their application. The SSCs are all based in pre-existing locations which were previously used as premium service centres, which broadly align with the postal districts of our customers.

There are currently six core UKVCAS service points and seven core SSC’s across the UK at which application submission services are offered. The SSCs are based in Belfast, Cardiff, Croydon, Glasgow, Liverpool, Sheffield and Solihull.

SSL undertook market research to identify initial service locations for the UKVCAS service points; their research included the impact on customer travel time, cost and accessibility. Beyond that, SSL offer a range of enhanced services in a further 50 UKVCAS locations. These services enable customers to submit their biometric information (photo and fingerprints) and supporting evidence in one location. 62% of customers will, on average, have to travel less than 25 miles to visit a core service centre, with 78% travelling less than 50 miles. Appointments may be offered for individual customers and/or family groups to enrol their biometrics together.


Written Question
Firearms: Licensing
Wednesday 7th March 2018

Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the number of shotgun and firearms certificates that have been granted where the applicant's doctor has not participated in the licensing process in the last three years.

Answered by Nick Hurd

In accordance with arrangements introduced in 2016, the police write to the GPs of those who apply for a firearms licence to seek relevant information regarding the applicant’s health before the licence is issued. We do not collect statistics on the number of certificates that have been granted without the applicant’s GP having participated in the process. However, reports from police forces and firearms licence applicants indicate that the participation rates amongst GPs are variable. We have been in discussions with the police, medical bodies and shooting representatives about how greater consistency can be achieved.


Written Question
Firearms: Licensing
Wednesday 7th March 2018

Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of GPs in each police constabulary area who are not participating in the firearms licensing process.

Answered by Nick Hurd

In accordance with arrangements introduced in 2016, the police write to the GPs of those who apply for a firearms licence to seek relevant information regarding the applicant’s health before the licence is issued. We do not collect statistics on the number of certificates that have been granted without the applicant’s GP having participated in the process. However, reports from police forces and firearms licence applicants indicate that the participation rates amongst GPs are variable. We have been in discussions with the police, medical bodies and shooting representatives about how greater consistency can be achieved.


Written Question
HM Passport Office: Luton
Monday 4th December 2017

Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the five nearest Passport interview offices to Luton are by journey time; and what benchmark journey times his Department used in its decision to close the office in Luton.

Answered by Brandon Lewis

Her Majesty’s Passport Office provides an online service where by entering their postcode, customers can find their nearest passport interview office. Find a passport interview office can be found on GOV.UK at the following address:

https://www.gov.uk/passport-interview-office

Minimising the impact upon customers was a key consideration in the decision to close the Luton interview office, with the distance and time for travel to the closest passport interview office in London being in line with many other parts of the UK.


Written Question
HM Passport Office: Luton
Thursday 23rd November 2017

Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of HM Passport Office's customers resident in Luton are required to attend an interview when making an passport application.

Answered by Brandon Lewis

Her Majesty’s Passport Office do not hold information on how many people in a particular area could be required to attend a passport application interview.


Written Question
HM Passport Office: Luton
Thursday 23rd November 2017

Asked by: Gavin Shuker (Independent - Luton South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many passport application interviews have been conducted at Luton HM Passport Office in each year since 2012.

Answered by Brandon Lewis

Her Majesty’s Passport Office has conducted 55,064 interviews at the Luton Interview Office since 2012. The table below shows the number of annual passport interviews conducted.

Year

Interviews conducted at Luton Interview Office

2012

9347

2013

12236

2014

10650

2015

7839

2016

10083

2017*

4909

*part year data to 19/11/2017