Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of digital roles within his Department were vacant as of 26 February 2024.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
There are 2691 digital roles within the departments’ digital function, of which 6% (160) are currently vacant.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding their Department has (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on software updates to legacy computer systems in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
In the Home Office, a total of 13% of the department’s main IT systems are regarded as Legacy, being on platforms deemed no longer to be invested in.
However, it is not possible to determine the amount spent on software updates alone on legacy systems, as those costs are often shared and/or not itemised under other service line costs.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police recorded cases of human trafficking there were in (a) 2021, (b) 2020, (c) 2019 and (c) 2018.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Home Office routinely publishes the number of human trafficking offences recorded by the police in England and Wales. Such offences are recorded within the Modern Slavery” category in the quarterly police recorded crime open data tables which can be found here:
Police recorded crime and outcomes open data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff were employed during (a) 2021 and (b) 2019 in Border force.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The latest published staffing and finance figures for Border Force can be found in the Home Office Annual Report for 2020-2021 on page 107 at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2020-to-2021.
The published staffing and finance figures for Border Force can be found in the Home Office Annual Report for 2018-2019 on page 85 at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2018-to-2019.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department holds information on every (a) company or (b) employer found to be engaged in modern slavery offences in the UK, under the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government does not hold the information in the requested format.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to replace in full the existing Border Force fleet of five cutters and six coastal patrol vessels; and whether she has made an estimate of the cost of replacing those cutters and vessels.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Budget on 27 October 2021 announced funding of £74m over the spending review period for the replacement of Border Force’s current fleet of five Cutters and six Coastal Patrol Vessels. [The full cost of the programme, including beyond the SR period, is being developed]
Reflecting this we are taking steps to initiate a delivery programme which will include a strategic assessment of how best to maintain and enhance these capabilities.
The procurement process will support operational delivery, wider government objectives and value for money. It will be conducted in line with all relevant legislation and agreements and will appropriately reflect the nature of Border Force operations. My officials continue to work closely with the National Shipbuilding Office, which is leading activity on the refreshed National Shipbuilding Strategy.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the procurement process for the replacement of the UK’s cutter and coastal patrol vessel fleet will be covered by the warships exception set out in Item 47 of Annex 4 of the coverage schedules certified as part of the UK’s accession to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Budget on 27 October 2021 announced funding of £74m over the spending review period for the replacement of Border Force’s current fleet of five Cutters and six Coastal Patrol Vessels. [The full cost of the programme, including beyond the SR period, is being developed]
Reflecting this we are taking steps to initiate a delivery programme which will include a strategic assessment of how best to maintain and enhance these capabilities.
The procurement process will support operational delivery, wider government objectives and value for money. It will be conducted in line with all relevant legislation and agreements and will appropriately reflect the nature of Border Force operations. My officials continue to work closely with the National Shipbuilding Office, which is leading activity on the refreshed National Shipbuilding Strategy.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to seek a UK supplier for the replacement of the Border Agency’s existing cutter and coastal patrol vessel fleet.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Budget on 27 October 2021 announced funding of £74m over the spending review period for the replacement of Border Force’s current fleet of five Cutters and six Coastal Patrol Vessels. [The full cost of the programme, including beyond the SR period, is being developed]
Reflecting this we are taking steps to initiate a delivery programme which will include a strategic assessment of how best to maintain and enhance these capabilities.
The procurement process will support operational delivery, wider government objectives and value for money. It will be conducted in line with all relevant legislation and agreements and will appropriately reflect the nature of Border Force operations. My officials continue to work closely with the National Shipbuilding Office, which is leading activity on the refreshed National Shipbuilding Strategy.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason the net cash requirement allocated to her Department for 2020-21 has exceeded the amount provided by the Main Estimate by £1.25 billion; and if she will provide a breakdown of the spending areas the additional funding has been allocated to.
Answered by Kevin Foster
A rationale for the increase can be found in the 2020-21 Net Cash Requirement shown in the Supplementary Estimate.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many passengers have arrived in the UK by air (a) in total between 1 June 2020 to 31 December 2020 (b) in each of those months.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The most recent immigration statistics were published on the 27th November 2020.
The links to the relevant information can be found below:
In addition, an ad hoc ‘Statistics relating to Covid-19 and the immigration system, was also published on the 27th November 2020.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-september-2020#history
The next Immigration statistics is due to be published in February 2021.