To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.


Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
Gender Based Violence
Tuesday 27th February 2024

Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) support and (b) resources her Department provides to organisations to (i) address issues related to gender-based violence and (ii) support survivors.

Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)

The Home Office and wider government committed to over £230 million from 2022-2025 as part of the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan, including £140 million for supporting victims. Funding for the National Domestic Abuse Helpline has been doubled, and funding for all the other national helplines supported by the Home Office has also increased.

As part of this commitment, the joint Home Office-Ministry of Justice VAWG Support and Specialist Service Fund will provide up to £8.3 million (in total) from 2023-2025 to ‘by and for’ and specialist organisations to support victims often facing the greatest barriers to getting the help they need.

Activity funded by the Home Office also includes £10.3 million across three years for the Children Affected by Domestic Abuse Fund and up to £1.4 million per financial year for the Support for Migrant Victims Scheme until March 2025.

In May 2023, the Home Office also launched a £300,000 ‘flexible fund’ trial in partnership with Women’s Aid Federation for England to make direct cash payments of £250 to victims and survivors of domestic abuse (£500 to those with children and those who are pregnant) to help remove barriers to leaving an abusive relationship. In November 2023, the Government commitment to support victims was renewed with a further £2m investment into the Flexible Fund until March 2025.


Written Question
Asylum: Temporary Accommodation
Wednesday 6th December 2023

Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that private providers contracted to run asylum accommodation services deliver on their contractual obligations.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

We have a robust governance framework in place to manage service delivery of the Asylum Accommodation Support Contracts (AASC). Details of the AASC can be found at:

New asylum accommodation contracts awarded - GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-asylum-accommodation-contracts-awarded

The Statement of Requirements sets out the delivery standards providers are required to meet. It also sets out provider obligations in adherence to legislation such as the Human Rights Act 1998, the Equality Act 2010 as well as duties such as under section 55 of the Border, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009, and the children’s duty, to safeguard children from harm and promote their welfare.

The Home Office has published Key Performance Indicator statistics covering the contractual obligations accommodation providers and others working in the asylum sector are required to deliver. This has been done since April 2020. This data is available on .gov.uk.

In all proposed accommodation sites, our accommodation providers work through a standardised regulatory checklist to verify the appropriateness of the site, including a detailed risk-assessment in advance of use. We work with our providers to carry out due diligence checks which include all relevant health and safety checks to ensure a site is able to operate in a legally compliant manner with all relevant standards met. We have also recently invested in ensuring these checks consider the mental and wellbeing aspects of asylum seekers and we are committed to working with all relevant providers to improve and build on the high service standards we expect.


Written Question
Asylum: Temporary Accommodation
Wednesday 6th December 2023

Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that the safety and wellbeing of asylum seekers is prioritised while in asylum accommodation.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

We have a robust governance framework in place to manage service delivery of the Asylum Accommodation Support Contracts (AASC). Details of the AASC can be found at:

New asylum accommodation contracts awarded - GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-asylum-accommodation-contracts-awarded

The Statement of Requirements sets out the delivery standards providers are required to meet. It also sets out provider obligations in adherence to legislation such as the Human Rights Act 1998, the Equality Act 2010 as well as duties such as under section 55 of the Border, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009, and the children’s duty, to safeguard children from harm and promote their welfare.

The Home Office has published Key Performance Indicator statistics covering the contractual obligations accommodation providers and others working in the asylum sector are required to deliver. This has been done since April 2020. This data is available on .gov.uk.

In all proposed accommodation sites, our accommodation providers work through a standardised regulatory checklist to verify the appropriateness of the site, including a detailed risk-assessment in advance of use. We work with our providers to carry out due diligence checks which include all relevant health and safety checks to ensure a site is able to operate in a legally compliant manner with all relevant standards met. We have also recently invested in ensuring these checks consider the mental and wellbeing aspects of asylum seekers and we are committed to working with all relevant providers to improve and build on the high service standards we expect.


Written Question
Asylum: Temporary Accommodation
Wednesday 6th December 2023

Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an estimate of the average level of profit that private providers have made running asylum accommodation in the most recent period for which data is available.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

It would not be appropriate to comment on commercial arrangements with suppliers.

All Home Office commercial contracts are designed to ensure the best value for tax payers and the Home Office closely monitors its contractors performance, including financial results. Any profits above the agreed contractual margins come back to the Home Office.


Written Question
Refugees: Afghanistan
Wednesday 15th November 2023

Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases have been accepted under the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The UK has made an ambitious and generous commitment to help at-risk people in Afghanistan and, so far, we have brought around 24,600 people to safety, including thousands of people eligible for our Afghan schemes. We continue to honour our commitments to bring eligible Afghans to the UK.

The latest published Operational data fact sheet on Afghan resettlement schemes shows the following by ACRS pathway, we have now resettled: 9,676 individuals under ACRS Pathway 1, 66 individuals under ACRS Pathway 2 and 41 individuals under ACRS Pathway 3.

Operational data is viewable at: Afghan Resettlement Programme: operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Afghan operational data is released quarterly with the next publication due around the 23rd November 2023.


Written Question
Disinformation
Monday 22nd May 2023

Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on countering foreign disinformation in the UK.

Answered by Suella Braverman

Countering foreign disinformation – which seeks to subvert and undermine the UK’s democracy, prosperity, and security – is vital.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology holds overall responsibility for countering disinformation and is the convening department that coordinates cross-government capabilities.

The Home Office works closely with DSIT and others in the coordinated effort to protect the UK.

The National Security Bill - currently making its way through this House - will further strengthen our ability to counter hostile state threats.


Written Question
Jews: Iran
Tuesday 14th March 2023

Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral statement on Security Threat to UK-Based Journalists of 20 February 2023, Official Report columns 49-51, what steps she is taking to help protect the safety of the Jewish community.

Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)

We take any threat to the UK-based Jewish community extremely seriously. As the Security Minister said in this House on 20 February, we are taking significant steps to address the activities of the Iranian regime and its operatives in the UK – whether those activities are threatening the Jewish community or any individuals or organisations in this country. However, the community should be alert but not alarmed.

In April 2022, the then Home Secretary announced continuation of the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant for 2022-23 (for £14 million) which provides protective security measures at various Jewish community sites. In November we circulated protective security messaging to charity Community Security Trust to help keep the Jewish community aware of the threat posed by Iran, and signpost towards the government’s online security advice hubs.

More broadly, we take a proactive approach to countering the most acute forms of state-directed physical threats to individuals in the UK. Working through our police forces – both national and regional – as well as the agencies that support them, we seek to identify those communities and individuals who may be most at risk, and to provide them with the right protective security guidance, and other measures where appropriate.


Written Question
Jews: Iran
Tuesday 14th March 2023

Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral statement on Security Threat to UK-Based Journalists of 20 February 2023, Official Report columns 49-51, what recent discussions (a) she and (b) her Department have had with representatives of the Community Security Trust on potential threats to the Jewish community.

Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)

The Security Minister recently met with representatives of the Community Security Trust on 27 February, for a very useful discussion on certain security issues affecting the Jewish community.

We recognise that the Community Security Trust remains a highly trusted and expert delivery partner of HMG, with considerable experience of providing protective security for the Jewish community.


Written Question
Animal Experiments
Friday 11th November 2022

Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Animals in Science Regulation Unit Annual reports 2019 to 2021, published on 26 October 2022, for what reasons incidents of non-compliance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, for which the remedy was not solely inspector advice, increased between 2018 and 2021.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The 2018 Animal in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU) annual report explains that several non-compliance cases were detected in 2018, but investigations were not completed until 2019. Available at (p26): www.gov.uk/government/publications/animals-in-science-regulation-unit-annual-report-2018. These completed investigations were then reported in the 2019 ASRU annual report.

The Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU) has published its compliance framework which identifies and investigates potential incidents of non-compliance and decides on appropriate and proportionate measures to minimise the risk of recurrence. Available at: www.gov.uk/guidance/animal-testing-and-research-compliance-with-aspa.


Written Question
Animal Experiments
Friday 11th November 2022

Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of enforcement action taken in response to the breaches of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 that are set out in the Animals in Science Regulation Unit’s annual reports for 2019-2021.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office take any allegations regarding non-compliance with the law, the Code of Practice or licence conditions very seriously.

The Compliance Policy, found here: (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/animal-testing-and-research-compliance-with-aspa) explains how the Regulator identifies and investigates potential incidents of non-compliance and decides on appropriate and proportionate measures aimed to minimise the risk of recurrence.