Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of visas that would be eligible for exemptions from paying National Insurance contributions in the UK under the Double Contribution Convention with India that will be issued in each of the next five years.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Double Contributions Convention (DCC) is not a visa route. It will be a reciprocal international treaty between countries which ensures that detached workers are only liable to pay social security contributions in one country at a time on the same earnings.
A detached worker is an employee who is sent by their employer to carry out a period of temporary work in another country. The definition of a detached worker does not map onto any single visa route and is a distinct test applied for National Insurance.
Around 17,000 Indian nationals (main applicants) came to the UK to work in 2024 on Skilled Worker and Global Business Mobility: Senior or Specialist Worker visas - however, only a subset of these types of workers will be eligible to be treated as a detached worker and continue paying contributions in India rather than the UK. This will be reciprocal for UK detached workers in India. Dependents are not detached workers. If a detached worker’s family members take up employment in the UK then they pay UK National Insurance.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people hold a visa that would make them eligible for an exemption from paying UK National Insurance contributions under the Double Contribution Convention with India.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Double Contributions Convention (DCC) is not a visa route. It will be a reciprocal international treaty between countries which ensures that detached workers are only liable to pay social security contributions in one country at a time on the same earnings.
A detached worker is an employee who is sent by their employer to carry out a period of temporary work in another country. The definition of a detached worker does not map onto any single visa route and is a distinct test applied for National Insurance.
Around 17,000 Indian nationals (main applicants) came to the UK to work in 2024 on Skilled Worker and Global Business Mobility: Senior or Specialist Worker visas - however, only a subset of these types of workers will be eligible to be treated as a detached worker and continue paying contributions in India rather than the UK. This will be reciprocal for UK detached workers in India. Dependents are not detached workers. If a detached worker’s family members take up employment in the UK then they pay UK National Insurance.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the median salary provided at application by Indian nationals issued with a Senior or Specialist Worker visa (Global Business Mobility) was in (a) 2023 and (b) 2024.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Applicants to the Global Business Mobility Senior or Specialist route must be awarded points for the salary requirement, either meeting the general salary requirement of £48,500 or the relevant going rate for their occupation, whichever is higher. The Home Office doesn't hold the information requested in a reportable format and this information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the mean salary provided at application by Indian nationals issued with a Senior or Specialist Worker visa (Global Business Mobility) was in (a) 2023 and (b) 2024.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Applicants to the Global Business Mobility Senior or Specialist route must be awarded points for the salary requirement, either meeting the general salary requirement of £48,500 or the relevant going rate for their occupation, whichever is higher. The Home Office doesn't hold the information requested in a reportable format and this information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which visa categories would be eligible for an exemption from paying National Insurance contributions in the UK under the Double Contribution Convention with India.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Double Contributions Convention (DCC) is not a visa route. It will be a reciprocal international treaty between countries which ensures that detached workers are only liable to pay social security contributions in one country at a time on the same earnings.
A detached worker is an employee who is sent by their employer to carry out a period of temporary work in another country. The definition of a detached worker does not map onto any single visa route and is a distinct test applied for National Insurance.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the impact of tool theft on (a) tradespeople and (b) small businesses.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
This government recognises the negative impact theft has on victims who rely on the tools of their trade to earn a living, including small businesses.
We are continuing to work with the police-led National Business Crime Centre and industry via the Combined Industries Theft Solutions forum to explore ways to tackle and prevent the theft of tools.
Following engagement with the Home Office and National Vehicle Crime Working Group, Thatcham Research agreed to add to their New Vehicle Security Assessment (NVSA), locks and alarms on the back of vans (previously NVSA only covers the cab area of vans) and a motion sensor on the load area of the van. This is supported by crime prevention advice developed by the Police Crime Prevention Initiatives: Secured by Design - Vans & Tool Theft.
A key part of making acquisitive crime less attractive to criminals is making stolen goods harder to sell on. That is why we are working closely with policing and academic leads to examine what more can be done to tackle the disposal markets for stolen goods and reduce the ability to profit from this criminality.
The Office for National Statistics publishes estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales on the proportion of incidents that involved tools being stolen in personal theft offences. These estimates are available in Table 3b of Nature of crime: personal and other theft. They provide estimates of theft of tools against individuals, including those who are self-employed but do not cover crimes against commercial premises.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on reducing tool theft.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
This government recognises the negative impact theft has on victims who rely on the tools of their trade to earn a living, including small businesses.
We are continuing to work with the police-led National Business Crime Centre and industry via the Combined Industries Theft Solutions forum to explore ways to tackle and prevent the theft of tools.
Following engagement with the Home Office and National Vehicle Crime Working Group, Thatcham Research agreed to add to their New Vehicle Security Assessment (NVSA), locks and alarms on the back of vans (previously NVSA only covers the cab area of vans) and a motion sensor on the load area of the van. This is supported by crime prevention advice developed by the Police Crime Prevention Initiatives: Secured by Design - Vans & Tool Theft.
A key part of making acquisitive crime less attractive to criminals is making stolen goods harder to sell on. That is why we are working closely with policing and academic leads to examine what more can be done to tackle the disposal markets for stolen goods and reduce the ability to profit from this criminality.
The Office for National Statistics publishes estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales on the proportion of incidents that involved tools being stolen in personal theft offences. These estimates are available in Table 3b of Nature of crime: personal and other theft. They provide estimates of theft of tools against individuals, including those who are self-employed but do not cover crimes against commercial premises.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department offers paternity leave to its staff from their first working day.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Yes, subject to certain eligibility criteria, including having at least 26 weeks’ continuous service ending with the ‘qualifying week’ as set out in the legislation; and continuing to work in the department from the qualifying week until the date the baby is born or is placed for adoption. Some Home Office employees could qualify from their first day of service because they already have qualifying service with another Civil Service organisation.
As with any changes to employment legislation, internal policies and processes will be updated as appropriate in preparation for when the Employment Rights Bill 2024 comes into effect.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology on the potential merits of the adoption of standalone 5G for the emergency services.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
DSIT and the Home Office work closely on the technical requirements for commercial mobile coverage. ESN will operate over a commercial mobile network based on technology designed to evolve and improve alongside consumer technologies.
Currently 4G offers best coverage and device availability and sufficient bandwidth for critical communications needs. ESN will use 5G standalone after its initial launch. Market trends suggest 4G and 5G will coexist for many years.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many additional police officers have been recruited to Sussex Police since December 2019.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
We are delivering on the people’s priorities by recruiting an additional 20,000 police officers by March 2023.
Police Uplift data is published quarterly and the latest release covers recruitment data from the start of the Programme in October 2019 to September 2020.
At 30 September 2020, Sussex Police had recruited 129 additional officers through the Police Uplift Programme and has therefore met its year one uplift allocation. The force also recruited 40 additional officers through other means during this period.
I am extremely grateful to those brave men and women who have signed up to join the police and keep our communities safe.