Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the impact of the delay in announcing the decision on the housing of asylum seekers in Pontins in Southport on the provision of public services by Sefton Council.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Whenever we pursue accommodation, a decision will be made and following collaborative and in-depth discussions regarding the accommodation and the services which might be required by councils and other government departments.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department will permit the creation of new asylum accommodation sites in areas which a local authority has deemed unsuitable.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
To inform decision making regarding an asylum accommodation centre, we would engage in collaborative and in-depth discussions about the accommodation and what services might be required with the local authority and other government departments.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has a timescale for informing Members of Parliament on decisions on new asylum accommodation sites within their constituencies after these have been decided within her Department.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
An announcement of any potential use of a site would involve collaborative and in-depth discussions regarding the accommodation and what services might be required within that Council and other government departments to inform decision making.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has received representations from local authorities on the ability of those authorities to refuse leaseholders from engaging in a change-of-use of a site from holiday to asylum accommodation, in the context of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office, and wider government, works closely with Local Authorities to discuss proposed accommodation sites in their area. Each potential site will have its own property and planning requirements which must be complied with, this will depend on the site.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education on ensuring that the families of asylum seekers are located in areas with services supporting vulnerable children and families.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The government is working to ensure the needs of asylum seekers on asylum support, including those with dependant family members, are met. We engage with Local Authorities to ensure asylum seekers have access to healthcare and social care services as well as education.
We work closely with the Department for Education. The latest published statistics from the Department for Education, for the year ending 31 March 2022, show there were 5,540 UASC being cared for in England alone, an increase of 34% from the previous reporting year and not reflecting the high intake seen last summer.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential (a) merits of ensuring families seeking asylum are placed in local authorities rated outstanding for children's service and (b) impact of an inadequate rating on the quality of support given to (i) asylum seekers and (ii) to local children.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Wherever the Home Office explores accommodation, Multi-Agency Forums are held with the Local Authority and other key stakeholders before implementation. Any concerns relating to the Local Authority’s ability to meet statutory requirements can be raised and discussed in that forum.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to ensure that her Department holds discussions with Sefton Council on (a) accommodation and (b) support for children's services for asylum seekers ahead of any decisions being made.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We are committed to engaging with local authorities and local partners to understand and mitigate identified risks and the concerns of the wider community. The Home Office would work closely with the Subject Matter Experts to understand how best to support any proposed accommodation or services for asylum seekers prior to any decision being made to use stand up accommodation.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether local authorities can refuse a new asylum accommodation site in their area.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office, and wider government, continue to work closely with Local Authorities to discuss proposed accommodation sites in their area.
We recognise the vital role Local Authorities play in this work which is why we have regular engagement with them, seeking their views and addressing issues they face.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that the Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda fulfils its objectives.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We continue to work closely with the Government of Rwanda to progress our ground-breaking Migration and Economic Development Partnership (MEDP). Our focus remains on moving ahead with this arrangement as soon as possible in order to tackle the global migration crisis and disrupt the business model of criminal gangs who are putting lives at risk. We continue to defend the MEDP against further legal challenges.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the report of His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Service entitled an inspection of vetting, misconduct, and misogyny in the police service, published on 2 November 2022, what assessment she has made of the implications for his Department’s policies of that report's finding that people with criminal convictions have been accepted into the police force.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The framework for police vetting is set out by the College of Policing through its statutory vetting code of practice and vetting authorised professional practice (APP) guidance. The guidance is reviewed on an ongoing basis and will consider the relevant recommendations from the inspectorate as part of that.
The code of practice recognises the importance of public confidence and states that applications to join the police should be rejected in all cases where the applicant has served a custodial sentence or is on the sex offenders register.
There is also a rebuttable presumption that a person will not be suitable for appointment if they have a previous conviction or caution for a criminal offence. Factors such as the nature and severity of the offence and age of the person when the offence was committed can be taken into account as each case must be considered on its own merits.
We expect Chief Officers to address all of its recommendations in full.