Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many employees in her Department work on matters related to covid-19.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office no longer actively monitor staff deployment for Covid-19, the number of staff members where their role is wholly or in part related to Covid-19 can only be retrieved by disproportionate effort.
However, the Department’s response to the Covid-19 Inquiry has a total of 7 (6.6FTE) employees.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has for the timescale for bringing into force of section 52 of the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 on the offence of threatening with an offensive weapon etc in a private place.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Section 52 was brought into force on 6 April 2022 by the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 (Commencement No. 2 and Saving Provision) Regulations 2022.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will detail the losses and special payments valued at under £300,000 for her departmental group as defined by section A4.10.7 in HM Treasury's Managing Public Money for (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
To provide details for each payment made under £300,000, such as nature and amount paid, cause of each loss and action taken, would require a manual search of all relevant payment records. Given the number of transactions that would have to be reviewed since April 2018, they could only be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Please refer to the links below for published information that relates to losses and special payments in the previous three financial years:
Pages 127-129 of the 2020-21 Home Office Annual Report and Accounts
HO annual report and accounts 2020-21 (publishing.service.gov.uk)
Pages 117-119 of the 2019-20 Home Office Annual Report and Accounts
Home Office annual report and accounts 2019 - 2020 (publishing.service.gov.uk)
Pages 104-105 of the 2018-19 Home Office Annual Report and Accounts
Home Office Annual Report and Accounts 2018-19 (publishing.service.gov.uk)
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to ensure that her Department and its agencies remove all internal covid-19 related policies, restrictions and mask mandates.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Throughout the pandemic, all Civil Service employers have followed government guidance in setting out their internal COVID-19 related policies. This includes complying with the Working Safely during Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance which sets out the key actions organisations should take to protect employees and customers in order to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading in workplaces, along with carrying out health and safety risk assessments that include the ongoing risk from COVID-19.
On 21 February 2022, the Government published their COVID-19 Response: Living with COVID-19. This document sets out how and when the remaining restrictions will be lifted in England. Government guidance was subsequently amended, including the Working Safely guidance.
The Government’s Working Safely guidance continues to require organisations to carry out a risk assessment which includes the risk from COVID-19. It also sets out additional actions organisations can take to protect employees and customers in the workplace, such as ensuring adequate ventilation, frequent cleaning, asking people to wash their hands frequently and asking people with COVID-19 to stay away. The guidance advises that people continue to wear face coverings in crowded and enclosed settings where they come into contact with people they do not normally meet, when rates of transmission are high. Civil Service employers will continue to follow this guidance and align their policies accordingly.
We continue to also follow guidance issued by the Devolved Administrations and other countries in which we operate.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to bring into force the offence of threatening with an offensive weapon etc in a private place as provided for by section 52 of the Offensive Weapons Act 2019.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Offensive Weapons Act 2019 is part of our broader strategy and programme of work to tackle serious violence, giving the police and other agencies more powers to tackle the use of knives, acids and firearms in serious violence.
Commencement of the legislation was paused due to Covid-19, to avoid placing additional burdens on the police and the retail and delivery sectors who will need to make changes to comply with the legislation.
Some measures provided for by the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 came in to force on 14 July 2021 and we intend to commence the remaining measures, including those in section 52 of the Act, in April 2022.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2021 to Question 83279 on Refugees: Housing, what consultation her Department carried out with each local authority prior to taking the decision to place asylum seekers in each local authority area.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Where we procure properties for asylum seekers, there is an engagement and consultation process to follow with stakeholders dependant on whether this is initial or dispersal accommodation.
For initial accommodation, including contingency initial accommodation, the Home Office will write to the Local Authority and the MP for the area to inform them of plans to use a site and arrange a meeting to discuss further. This is normally done in advance of a property being used, but where an urgent need for accommodation occurs, this may take place retrospectively.
For dispersal accommodation, which will be sourced in areas which have previously agreed to be part of this scheme, the Home Office’s providers will normally notify the Local Authority and begin a consultation process around the proposed use of a site. However please note, providers are not contractually bound to do this.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which local authorities have (a) offered and (b) refused to provide accommodation for asylum seekers in each of the last three years.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Data is published on a quarterly basis, with the latest information published 25 November 2021. The next quarterly figures are due to be released in February 2022.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason people who have been refused asylum are able to access accommodation and other financial support from UK Visas and Immigration.
Answered by Kevin Foster
In order to fulfil our statutory obligations to meet minimum standards for failed asylum seekers, individuals are eligible to receive support under section 4(2) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 provided they meet conditions set out in the Immigration and Asylum (Provisions of Accommodation to Failed Asylum-Seekers) Regulations 2005.
The regulations require the individuals to show they are destitute and they are taking reasonable steps to leave the UK or face a practical or legal obstacle which prevents their departure.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her current policy is on the wearing of face coverings in her (a) Department, (b) departmental agencies and (c) related bodies during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Home Office policy will follow the government’s guidance published by BEIS on 14 July 2021 which states that face coverings are no longer required by law. Based on a risk assessment there may be some indoor settings such as crowded, enclosed spaces where employees will be strongly encouraged to wear face coverings. Some operational settings that include higher risk activities may require PPE to be worn as a control for specific activities. Employees will be able to choose if they wish to wear a face covering in a work environment.
In respect of departmental agencies and related bodies they will be implementing local restrictions as required following the government’s guidance set out above.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17 June 2021 to Question 10277 on Homicide, in what format that information is held.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The information is held in the Home Office Homicide Index, a detailed record-level dataset on homicides recorded by the police in England and Wales. The Homicide Index is continually updated with revised information from the police as investigations continue and as cases are heard by the courts. Homicide cases are often complex and can take time to reach a conclusion.