Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of collecting data on the number of callouts police attend to attempted suicides or suicides in progress.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The College of Policing set the professional standards for police in England and Wales. The College’s core guidance includes the initial training for officers under the Policing Education Qualifications Framework which incorporates autism, learning disabilities, mental health and vulnerabilities. Through this, officers are taught to assess vulnerability and amend their approaches as required.
The College further promotes the need for frameworks to assess vulnerability, to aid in consistent identification, support decision making, and to trigger appropriate safeguarding action. Such principles and practices are set out in a number of college products, including the Detention and Custody Authorised Professional Practice.
Policing is operationally independent, and it is a matter for the chief constables of each force to decide which additional training their officers should undertake and to set and enforce standards, giving them the flexibility to address their own local challenges, needs and priorities. They are inspected biannually by His Majesties Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) whose role is to independently report on the efficiency and effectiveness of police forces, including inspecting how forces protect vulnerable people.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of suicide prevention training provided to police staff.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has been clear that the health and wellbeing of our police is a priority and that those who have faced suicide-related incidents in the line of duty receive the support they need to recover and continue serving.
We continue to fund the National Police Wellbeing Service (NPWS) who have introduced a Trauma Tracker tool to help forces better understand exposure to traumatic incidents and ensure timely support for officers and staff. NPWS have also created a national suicide action plan which aims to educate and support the workforce, reduce stress and improve data recording. In addition, the Service has a 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Support Line to provide urgent support for our police when they need it the most.
It is a matter for the chief constables of each force to decide which additional training their officers should undertake and to set and enforce standards, giving them the flexibility to address their own local challenges, needs and priorities. They are inspected biannually by His Majesties Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) whose role is to independently report on the efficiency and effectiveness of police forces, including inspecting how forces protect vulnerable people.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of support available to police who attend traumatic callouts to attempted suicides.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has been clear that the health and wellbeing of our police is a priority and that those who have faced suicide-related incidents in the line of duty receive the support they need to recover and continue serving.
We continue to fund the National Police Wellbeing Service (NPWS) who have introduced a Trauma Tracker tool to help forces better understand exposure to traumatic incidents and ensure timely support for officers and staff. NPWS have also created a national suicide action plan which aims to educate and support the workforce, reduce stress and improve data recording. In addition, the Service has a 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Support Line to provide urgent support for our police when they need it the most.
It is a matter for the chief constables of each force to decide which additional training their officers should undertake and to set and enforce standards, giving them the flexibility to address their own local challenges, needs and priorities. They are inspected biannually by His Majesties Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) whose role is to independently report on the efficiency and effectiveness of police forces, including inspecting how forces protect vulnerable people.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department offers (a) bonuses and (b) financial incentives to asylum caseworkers for meeting targets and clearing backlogs.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Asylum decisions are subject to stringent quality checks to ensure that claims are properly considered, decisions are sound, and protection is granted to those who genuinely need it.
Performance targets are agreed with managers and reviewed regularly, supported by robust performance management processes. Rewards are linked to the consistent delivery of outputs, high quality work and professional behaviour that reflect the values of the Civil Service. This framework ensures that any recognition of staff goes hand in hand with maintaining the high standards expected in asylum decision-making.
To address delays and reduce costs to the taxpayer, we introduced a short-term scheme to recognise colleagues who produced additional output while continuing to meet their existing targets, and in line with our quality assurance framework. It was tightly controlled, subject to regular review, and monitored closely to ensure correct and consistent implementation.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 September 2025 to Question 76241 on Borders: Personal Records, what the marginal difference is as a numerical value.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The marginal difference between the number of individuals recorded leaving the UK and the overall number of individuals who leave the UK cannot be quantified in a way suitable for publication.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2025 to Question 67814 on Borders: Personal Records, whether her Department has an accurate count of the number of people leaving the UK.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
As a consequence of the Common Travel Area arrangements, including travellers who leave the UK via the land border with Ireland, there is a marginal difference between the number of individuals recorded leaving the UK and the overall number of individuals who leave the UK.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 30 June 2025 to Question 62530 on Borders: Personal Records, whether she has made an assessment of the potential difference between the figure (a) provided by transport companies and (b) of people actually exiting the country.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under review, including the role of the e-visa system in improving checks on when individuals leave the country.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many enquiries have been submitted to her Department on non compliance with the Home Office Code of Practice for Sports Governing Bodies in the last six weeks; and to which sports governing bodies they referred.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Sports governing bodies approved by the Home Office are required to abide by the ‘Code of Practice for Sports Governing Bodies’ as part of their role under the International Sportsperson visa route.
The Home Office reserves the right to check the activities of an approved sports governing body’s role at any time, and issues regarding non-compliance will be addressed directly with the relevant body in the first instance. Where an approved body continues to fail to comply with its duties as set out in the ‘Code’, the Home Office will consider changing the approved governing body for that sport at its own discretion, in consultation with DCMS or the relevant home sports councils.
It would not be appropriate for the Home Office to comment upon specific reports submitted to the department regarding the role of sports governing bodies or provide any details of those reports.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure compliance with Home Office Code of Practice for Sports Governing Bodies.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Sports governing bodies approved by the Home Office are required to abide by the ‘Code of Practice for Sports Governing Bodies’ as part of their role under the International Sportsperson visa route.
The Home Office reserves the right to check the activities of an approved sports governing body’s role at any time, and issues regarding non-compliance will be addressed directly with the relevant body in the first instance. Where an approved body continues to fail to comply with its duties as set out in the ‘Code’, the Home Office will consider changing the approved governing body for that sport at its own discretion, in consultation with DCMS or the relevant home sports councils.
It would not be appropriate for the Home Office to comment upon specific reports submitted to the department regarding the role of sports governing bodies or provide any details of those reports.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of requiring the Border Force to (a) check and (b) record the identities of people leaving the UK.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Home Office reintroduced exit checks in April 2015. Working with carriers, exit checks routinely provide us with vital information that confirm a person’s exit from the UK. Details are set out at this link: Exit checks fact sheet - GOV.UK.