Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police(a) officers and (b) staff have been dismissed from Lancashire constabulary in the last three years.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the number of police officers and staff leaving the police service due to dismissal in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales
Information on the number of police officers and staff leaving the police service due to dismissal, in Lancashire Constabulary, between the years ending March 2007 to 2023 can be found in the ‘Leavers Open Data Table’ here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1172932/open-data-table-police-workforce-leavers-260723.ods
Dismissals includes individuals who have been required to resign, made compulsorily redundant, or have had their contract terminated. While these figures will include dismissals for misconduct, they are not exclusively misconduct or performance cases, as they also include redundancies and contract terminations.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the launch of the National Age Assessment Board on 31 March, what assessment criteria will be used to determine whether the work of the Board has been effective during its first phase in London and the West Midlands prior to any decision to roll out that work nationwide.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The National Age Assessment Board (NAAB) is in the process of recruiting and training suitably experienced social workers who can carry out age assessments on behalf of the Home Office and will expand into wider regions as social worker capacity builds up. We will continue to review and monitor the impact of this Board.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the launch of the National Age Assessment Board on 31 March, how many qualified social workers had (a) completed the recruitment process to serve on the Board and (b) started their employment on the Board as of 20 April 2023.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
As of 20 April 2023, 16 social workers had completed the recruitment process and were employed to serve on the Board. This is in line with our projections for onboarding.
Further recruitment is ongoing.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of levels of public support for the Illegal Migration Bill among young people.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
No formal assessment has been made. The Bill commands the support of the vast majority of the British public who expect immigration to be orderly, controlled and fair.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons her Department allows licenses for animal testing of cosmetic ingredients to be issued in certain circumstances.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat
Animal testing of cosmetics for consumer safety has been banned in the UK since 1998 and this remains in force.
On 17 May 2023 the Government announced it is going further by banning, with immediate effect, licences to test ingredients exclusively used in the production of cosmetics for the purposes of worker safety.
The Home Secretary has issued a Written Ministerial Statement, which can be found here: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2023-05-17/hcws779.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of Section 95 Asylum Support, in the context of the cost-of-living crisis.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
From 21 December 2022, the government increased the main rate of asylum support that is provided under sections 4 and 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 to £45 per week on an interim basis.
The level of allowance is reviewed annually to ensure it meets the sufficient living needs of asylum seekers. We are undertaking this year’s asylum support review and will announce the outcome through amendments to the Asylum Support Regulations 2000.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of allowing asylum seekers to work on (a) the economy and (b) the level of job vacancies.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Asylum seekers are allowed to work in the UK if their claim has been outstanding for 12 months or more, through no fault of their own. Those permitted to work are restricted to jobs on the Shortage Occupation List.
A review of the policy concluded in December 2021 and there will be no changes to the policy at this time.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people receive Section 95 Asylum Support in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at Asylum and resettlement datasets Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets opens in a new tab), under the document Asylum seekers in receipt of support (second edition). Data are published on a quarterly basis, with the next quarterly figures are due to be released in May 2023.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that asylum seekers who are removed to (a) Rwanda and (b) other safe third countries under the Illegal Migration Bill will not be subject to discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Everyone considered for relocation to a safe third country will be considered on a case-by-case basis and have access to legal advice. We would not relocate someone where it would be unsafe or inappropriate to do so.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to monitor the activities of (a) Patriotic Alternative and (b) other far-right groups relating to refugees.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Government remains committed to tackling those who spread views that promote violence and hatred against individuals and communities in our society. This includes using existing mechanisms to analyse, prevent and disrupt the spread of ideologies that can lead to community division.
Rights to peaceful protest do not extend to violent or threatening behaviour and the police have powers to deal with any such acts and protect the public.