Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the number of police officers in the Borough of Wandsworth in (a) 2010 and (b) 2018.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The number of police officers in the Borough of Wandsworth is not collected centrally as the Home Office only collects this information at Police Force Area (PFA) level only.
The Home Office collects and publishes statistics on the number of police officers employed by each police force in England and Wales on a bi-annual basis. These data are published in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletins.
Data on the number of police officers in each PFA as at 31 March 2010 and 31 March 2019 can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/817734/open-data-table-police-workforce.ods
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the timeframe is for the implementation of the Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration etc) Act 2019 and the provision in that Act that allows for the names of both parents of a couple to be included on marriage certificates.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Home Office is currently working on implementation plans to introduce the provisions in the Act. This will facilitate an update of the marriage entry to include the names of both parents of a couple.
The Act also provides for civil partnership to be extended to opposite-sex couples which must be implemented no later than 31 December 2019.
An implementation date for each of these provisions will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he plans for the Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration etc) Act 2019 to be implemented before October 2019.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Home Office is currently working on implementation plans to introduce the provisions in the Act. This will facilitate an update of the marriage entry to include the names of both parents of a couple.
The Act also provides for civil partnership to be extended to opposite-sex couples which must be implemented no later than 31 December 2019.
An implementation date for each of these provisions will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the timeframe is for operational changes needed for the Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration etc) Act 2019's provisions to allow names of both parents to be included on marriage certificates to be completed.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Home Office is currently working on implementation plans to introduce the provisions in the Act. This will facilitate an update of the marriage entry to include the names of both parents of a couple.
The Act also provides for civil partnership to be extended to opposite-sex couples which must be implemented no later than 31 December 2019.
An implementation date for each of these provisions will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effect of the increase in the Immigration Health Surcharge on trends in the level of non-EEA NHS nursing staff.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Government continues to monitor trends in visa applications, including for the Tier 2 route through which non-EEA NHS nursing staff are admitted to the UK.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department has taken to tackle far right politically motivated violence in the UK following the March 2019 attacks in Birmingham and in Christchurch in New Zealand; and what meetings he has had with Cabinet colleagues on that issue.
Answered by Ben Wallace
The Home Secretary has been clear: the far right has absolutely no place in Britain. The British people overwhelmingly reject the prejudiced rhetoric of the far right, which is the antithesis of the values that this country repre-sents: decency, tolerance and respect. Our counter terrorism strategy, CONTEST, works to reduce the risk from all forms of terrorism, irrespective of the ideology that inspires them.
Since Christchurch the government has put in place a number of measures to reassure communities of all faiths across the UK who may feel worried about their safety. In the first instance, the Police have implemented additional patrols around mosques and other places of worship and are working with communities to help enhance safety and reassure the public.
We have committed to funding a fourth round of the Places of Worship Scheme in 2019/20 as part of the Hate Crime Action Plan refresh, this follows the success of the initial three years of funding. On 19 March 2019 the Home Secretary announced double the amount of funding awarded last year would be available for this year’s scheme; uplifting funding to £1.6 million for 2019/20
The Government has also announced a new £5 million fund over 3 years to provide security training for Places of Worship. We will be working closely with communities and faith leaders to develop this new scheme and will, as soon as possible, be opening a competitive process.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations he has received on the increases in the per person visa fees for Commonwealth UK Armed Forces personnel applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
All immigration and nationality fees are set within strict financial limits agreed with HM Treasury and Parliament, and are also aligned with clear principles that balance a number of complex factors, including the benefits likely to be accrued.
Officials from the Home Office liaise regularly with counterparts in MOD and the Armed Forces Families Federations on various issues regarding armed forces migration, including immigration fees for foreign and Commonwealth former service personnel. We are aware of the current campaign by Royal British Legion to waive settlement fees for Commonwealth national personnel, and I have responded to their letter on this issue.
The Home Office reviews fees on a yearly basis and income from fees charged for immigration and nationality applications plays a vital role in our ability to run a sustainable immigration and nationality system, and minimize the burden on the taxpayer. Application fees in general have increased in recent years to support this aim.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Home Affairs, how many police officers have been allocated to investigate claims of child sexual abuse by sports coaches in the latest period for which figures are available.
Answered by Nick Hurd
Child sexual abuse investigations are an operational matter for the police. Police and Crime Commissioners and chief constables are best placed to decide how to deploy their officers to investigate these crimes. The police are operationally independent of Government; therefore, the Government does not hold information about the number of police officers allocated to investigate these crimes.
The Home Office is providing £1.9m financial support through Police Special Grant funding to Operation Hydrant towards the coordination of child sexual abuse and exploitation investigations concerning institutional settings. Operation Hydrant publishes statistics quarterly at: https://www.npcc.police.uk/NPCCBusinessAreas/OtherWorkAreas/OpHydrant/Statistics.aspx.
Latest published statistics by Operation Hydrant feature 329 sport institutions on the Operation Hydrant database up to and including the 30 September 2018. In relation to abuse in football specifically, 300 alleged suspects have been identified up to and including 29 March 2018.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Home Affairs, how many cases of sexual abuse of children by sports coaches are under investigation by the police.
Answered by Nick Hurd
Child sexual abuse investigations are an operational matter for the police. Police and Crime Commissioners and chief constables are best placed to decide how to deploy their officers to investigate these crimes. The police are operationally independent of Government; therefore, the Government does not hold information about the number of police officers allocated to investigate these crimes.
The Home Office is providing £1.9m financial support through Police Special Grant funding to Operation Hydrant towards the coordination of child sexual abuse and exploitation investigations concerning institutional settings. Operation Hydrant publishes statistics quarterly at: https://www.npcc.police.uk/NPCCBusinessAreas/OtherWorkAreas/OpHydrant/Statistics.aspx.
Latest published statistics by Operation Hydrant feature 329 sport institutions on the Operation Hydrant database up to and including the 30 September 2018. In relation to abuse in football specifically, 300 alleged suspects have been identified up to and including 29 March 2018.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will reassess the case of Aghan interpreter Mohammed Nabi Wardak who translated for British armed forces on the front line in Helmand province between 2008 and 2011 and has been denied relocation to the UK.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Government recognises the vital role interpreters and local staff played in operations in Afghanistan. That is why there are two dedicated schemes designed to help local staff: the Ex-gratia redundancy scheme and the Intimidation policy. Responsibility for administering these schemes sits with the Ministry of Defence.
Where an individual chooses to leave Afghanistan outside of these schemes, our position is that they should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach – that is the fastest route to safety.