Asked by: Alun Cairns (Conservative - Vale of Glamorgan)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make it his policy to ensure that the constraints placed on Departments by the Civil Service headcount cap will not have a negative impact on resourcing for the delivery of commitments made in the Economic Crime Plan.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
Through the Spending Review and the new Economic Crime Levy we are providing additional funding to tackle Economic Crime of £400 million up to the end of 2024/25.
The headcount cap announced by the Chancellor applies to the overall size of the Civil Service, excluding the devolved administrations. Policing, including Regional Organised Crime Units (ROCUs) who are a major recipient of additional Economic Crime investment, are out of scope.
As part of the process, the Government will identify risks, and ensure this is implemented in a way which preserves frontline service delivery, business critical activity and key Government priorities.
This is not a recruitment freeze, but rather about stopping unchecked growth overall and moving towards a leaner and more efficient Civil Service workforce.
Asked by: Alun Cairns (Conservative - Vale of Glamorgan)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department accepts asylum applications on the grounds that a country is affected by climate change.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Refugee status is granted when someone has a well-founded fear of persecution under the Refugee Convention for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion
Asked by: Alun Cairns (Conservative - Vale of Glamorgan)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had recent discussions with international organisations on the impact of climate change on levels of migration to the UK.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The UK has been involved in a range of international conversations and discussions around climate change. These include the Global Forum for Migration and Development (GFMD), International Dialogue on Migration (IDM) and the International Migration Review Forum (IMRF).
Asked by: Alun Cairns (Conservative - Vale of Glamorgan)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the report by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse entitled Child protection in religious organisations and settings, published in September 2021, if she will take steps to implement the recommendations of that report.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government remains firmly committed to tackling all forms of child sexual abuse and has engaged constructively with the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse throughout the course of its seven years of investigation.
The recommendations in the religious organisations and settings report fall within the policy remit of the Department for Education, and I continue to work closely with my ministerial colleagues on these important issues.
We are currently carefully considering the Inquiry’s Final Report and I recognise the significant milestone this report represents in our wider whole-of-system efforts to combat this horrific crime. The strength and bravery of all of the victims and survivors who came forward to share their stories cannot be understated. And I am committed to working across government to prepare the Government response to the final 20 recommendations which will be published in the coming weeks.
We remain committed to confronting and combatting this horrific crime wherever and whenever it occurs and will use every lever available to us to keep children safe, and provide support to victims and survivors to ensure they receive the support they need to help to rebuild their lives.