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Written Question
Police: Kent
Tuesday 28th November 2023

Asked by: Damian Collins (Conservative - Folkestone and Hythe)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers were serving in (a) the Folkestone and Hythe district and (b) Kent Police, in each year since 2010.

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

The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size of the police workforce in England and Wales, broken down by Police Force Area (PFA), on a bi-annual basis 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.

These data are collected by PFA level only, and information at lower levels of geography, such as districts are not collected. Data on the number of police officers in Kent as at 31 March each year, from 2007 to 2023, on a full-time equivalent and headcount basis, can be found in the ‘Police Workforce Open Data Table’ here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1172892/open-data-table-police-workforce-260723.ods.


Written Question
Members: Correspondence
Tuesday 12th July 2022

Asked by: Damian Collins (Conservative - Folkestone and Hythe)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the correspondence of (a) 13 March 2022 and (b) 7 June 2022 from the hon. Member for Folkestone and Hythe on Dr Stephen Coles and Mr Heenmunne Arachchige Chathuranga Kumara.

Answered by Kevin Foster

The Home Office responded to the correspondence on 6 July 2022


Written Question
Visas: Journalism
Wednesday 2nd March 2022

Asked by: Damian Collins (Conservative - Folkestone and Hythe)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the recommendation of the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom to introduce a new emergency visa for journalists at risk.

Answered by Kevin Foster

We maintained a regular dialogue with the FCDO in response to the High-Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom’s recommendations, including meeting with the report’s author. The Foreign Secretary wrote to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 2 February 2022 with our full response.

The Home Secretary’s existing discretion to grant leave as outlined in the New Plan for Immigration and ability to use this – for example in exceptional humanitarian circumstances – is sufficient to respond to such individuals. We have already seen discretion used in the context of the Afghanistan crisis.

In August 2021, we offered granted over 70 journalists and other employees of UK media organisations, including employees from BBC World Service, the Guardian, and The Times, leave to enter the UK outside the rules.

Further, journalists are eligible to apply under the skilled worker route of the Points-Based system, providing they meet the specified requirements.


Written Question
Visas: Afghanistan
Wednesday 2nd March 2022

Asked by: Damian Collins (Conservative - Folkestone and Hythe)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghan journalists have received UK visas and been resettled in the UK since 1 August 2021.

Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

The Government responded swiftly to the fast-moving and challenging events in Afghanistan, including supporting the largest and fastest evacuation in recent history. We can be proud as a country that we helped over 15,000 people to safety from Afghanistan in August 2021 and we continue to do all we can to enable those who are eligible to relocate to the UK.

There have been approximately 100 Afghan journalists who have been evacuated and brought to safety since 1 August 2021. Those who entered were granted Leave Outside the Rules (LOTR) for 6 months, this status is not a bar to them being permanently housed or to starting their life in the UK.

The Home Office is currently supporting those here in the UK to assist them to obtain Indefinite Leave to Remain status.


Written Question
Fraud: Internet
Friday 26th November 2021

Asked by: Damian Collins (Conservative - Folkestone and Hythe)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle online fraud.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

Frauds that are committed online are pernicious crimes. They can cause terrible financial and emotional harm to victims. The Government has been working with partners in the public and private sectors to keep the public safe and bring these fraudsters to justice.

DCMS are leading ground-breaking work on the Online Safety Bill. The Bill will require regulated companies to take action to tackle user-generated fraud on their platforms. This will impact some of the most harmful online fraud types such as investment and romance scams. DCMS are also leading work through the Online Advertising Programme that will consider, amongst other things, the role online advertising plays in enabling online fraud.

We have also been working closely alongside the National Cyber Security Centre who launched their Suspicious Email Reporting Service last year. This has already led to over 8.1 million reports received and the removal of over 67,000 scams and 124,000 harmful websites, since its inception in April 2020.

However, Government and the public sector cannot tackle online fraud alone. That is why, on the 21 October 2021, the Joint Fraud Taskforce was relaunched under my [Security Minister] chairmanship. The JFT brings together leaders from across the Government, private sector, regulators, law enforcement and victim groups to encourage collaboration to keep the public safe from these crimes. Alongside the relaunch, we published voluntary agreement with the retail banking, telecommunications and accountancy sectors outlining innovative measures to reduce fraud facilitated through these industries (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/joint-fraud-taskforce). We are also engaging the tech sector specifically through the Online Fraud Steering Group.


We continue to encourage the public to report fraud to Action fraud and to forward any suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk and suspicious texts to 7726, free of charge.


Written Question
Extradition: EU Countries
Monday 8th February 2021

Asked by: Damian Collins (Conservative - Folkestone and Hythe)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what grounds EU member states are able to refuse an extradition request from the UK; and what provisions are in place to prevent people with UK convictions who have fled the UK to the EU escaping justice.

Answered by Kit Malthouse

Under the UK-EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement a requested person cannot be surrendered if their fundamental rights are at risk, if extradition would be disproportionate or if they are likely to face long periods of pre-trial detention.   

Some EU Member States operate on the fundamental principle that they cannot extradite their citizens outside of the EU. In this context the provisions of the agreement provide for a path to justice in each case.

For example, where someone has been convicted in the UK, if they are arrested in their state of nationality, the authorities there can decide to enforce the sentence at home.


Written Question
Asylum: Napier Barracks
Thursday 28th January 2021

Asked by: Damian Collins (Conservative - Folkestone and Hythe)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has received from Public Health England on policies for mitigating the spread of covid-19 amongst people living and working at the asylum seeker accommodation centre at Napier Barracks in Folkestone.

Answered by Kevin Foster

We are working closely with our providers, and with Public Health England, to ensure that all individuals who have to self-isolate can do so and are following all medical advice closely.

We take the welfare of those in our care extremely seriously and asylum seekers can contact the 24/7 helpline run by Migrant Help if they have any issues.

We do not publish the information requested, although the number of asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets#asylum-support

At present the Home Office will continue to regularly move small numbers of people out of Napier barracks into Dispersal Accommodation in line with business as usual processes and will continue to route new people into Napier in line with public health guidance.

Those asylum seekers being moved to Dispersal Accommodation will not be moved to the other Ministry of Defence site currently in use (Penally Training Camp). This site is also providing temporary contingency accommodation for asylum seekers.


Written Question
Asylum: Napier Barracks
Thursday 28th January 2021

Asked by: Damian Collins (Conservative - Folkestone and Hythe)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people who have applied for asylum in the UK (a) have been accommodated at Napier Barracks in Folkestone, (b) are currently being accommodated there; what the average length of stay has been; and whether asylum seekers who have not previously stayed at the Barracks will be accommodated there in the future.

Answered by Kevin Foster

We are working closely with our providers, and with Public Health England, to ensure that all individuals who have to self-isolate can do so and are following all medical advice closely.

We take the welfare of those in our care extremely seriously and asylum seekers can contact the 24/7 helpline run by Migrant Help if they have any issues.

We do not publish the information requested, although the number of asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets#asylum-support

At present the Home Office will continue to regularly move small numbers of people out of Napier barracks into Dispersal Accommodation in line with business as usual processes and will continue to route new people into Napier in line with public health guidance.

Those asylum seekers being moved to Dispersal Accommodation will not be moved to the other Ministry of Defence site currently in use (Penally Training Camp). This site is also providing temporary contingency accommodation for asylum seekers.


Written Question
Paul Cleeland
Thursday 21st January 2021

Asked by: Damian Collins (Conservative - Folkestone and Hythe)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of to Question 125990, when her Department plans to complete its review of files relating to Mr Paul Cleeland (a) in its possession or (b) transferred to the Criminal Case Review Commission; and if she will make a statement on the findings of that review.

Answered by Kit Malthouse

Further to the answer provided to the Hon Member’s PQ 125990 on 10 December, the Home Office has searched its own holdings and files held by the CCRC are being transferred. These will be examined as soon as practicable and the Home Office will provide the Hon Member with an update on next steps. It would not be appropriate to comment further while legal proceedings are ongoing.


Written Question
Mukhtar Ablyazov
Monday 14th December 2020

Asked by: Damian Collins (Conservative - Folkestone and Hythe)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what date officials of her Department were notified of Mukhtar Ablyazov's asylum in France; and whether Mukhtar Ablyazov remains subject to an arrest warrant in the UK”.

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

The Home Office does not hold this information.

The Home Office is not informed when an individual is granted asylum in another country.

Arrest warrants are a matter for the police and the UK’s independent prosecution authorities. There is no Ministerial involvement.