Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what was the (a) budget of the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and (b) number of full-time equivalent staff working for the Domestic Abuse Commissioner for each year since the Designate Domestic Abuse Commissioner was appointed in September 2019.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
Nicole Jacobs was appointed as the Designate Domestic Abuse Commissioner in September 2019 and became the Commissioner when her powers were made statutory in November 2021.
The budget and FTE equivalent are as follows:
Year | Budget for the Office of the Designate/ Domestic Abuse Commissioner | Number of full-time equivalent staff working in the Office of the Designate/ Domestic Abuse Commissioner |
2019/20 | £1m | 0.25 |
2020/21 | £1m | 5.3 |
2021/22 | £1m | 10.3 |
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many women police community support officers were employed by police forces in England & Wales in each of the last ten years for which figures are available.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size of the police workforce in England and Wales on a biannual basis in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here: Police workforce England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Information on the total number of police officers, by rank, and police community support officers as at the 31 March each year can be found in the workforce open data tables published at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1005761/open-data-table-police-workforce-280721.ods
Due to the implementation of the Police Workforce Data Standards, from 2021 the police workforce data collection was updated to collect information on both the sex and gender of the officer. Previously, data collected and presented in this table referred to the sex of the officer only, limited to male or female. For some forces, this change has led to a large proportion of officers with an “unknown” gender or “unknown” sex. While the expectation is that this will improve in future years, a hybrid approach was taken in 2021 to account for cases with an “unknown” gender recorded. Where gender data are not available, analysts have instead used sex data, and vice versa (see the user guide for more details).
While the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin remains the key measure of the size of the police workforce, the Home Office also publishes a quarterly update as part of the Police Officer Uplift Programme. This quarterly bulletin includes the number of officers (headcount terms only) in England and Wales, broken down by both sex and gender. Data are available here: Police Officer uplift statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Table U5a of the accompanying data tables contains information on the number of officers broken down by sex, and Table U5b on the number of officers broken down by gender. We continue to work with NPCC and police forces to improve the recording of gender and sex data.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many women police constables have been employed by police forces in England & Wales in each of the last ten years for which figures are available.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size of the police workforce in England and Wales on a biannual basis in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here: Police workforce England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Information on the total number of police officers, by rank, and police community support officers as at the 31 March each year can be found in the workforce open data tables published at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1005761/open-data-table-police-workforce-280721.ods
Due to the implementation of the Police Workforce Data Standards, from 2021 the police workforce data collection was updated to collect information on both the sex and gender of the officer. Previously, data collected and presented in this table referred to the sex of the officer only, limited to male or female. For some forces, this change has led to a large proportion of officers with an “unknown” gender or “unknown” sex. While the expectation is that this will improve in future years, a hybrid approach was taken in 2021 to account for cases with an “unknown” gender recorded. Where gender data are not available, analysts have instead used sex data, and vice versa (see the user guide for more details).
While the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin remains the key measure of the size of the police workforce, the Home Office also publishes a quarterly update as part of the Police Officer Uplift Programme. This quarterly bulletin includes the number of officers (headcount terms only) in England and Wales, broken down by both sex and gender. Data are available here: Police Officer uplift statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Table U5a of the accompanying data tables contains information on the number of officers broken down by sex, and Table U5b on the number of officers broken down by gender. We continue to work with NPCC and police forces to improve the recording of gender and sex data.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to reduce or remove the visa charge for foreign soldiers who have fought for the UK and wish to move to the UK; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Secretary and Defence Secretary announced on 23 February that the Government has decided to waive settlement fees for non-UK personnel in our Armed Forces, who have six years or more reckonable service, or who are discharged due to an illness or injury attributable to their service regardless of the length of their service.
These changes are being implemented via an update to the Immigration Fees and Regulations, with the changes coming into effect on 6 April 2022.
The Written Statement regarding this policy can be found at:
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2022-02-23/hcws624.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate she has made of the (a) waiting times for an Application registration card (ARC) for unaccompanied minors to be issued and (b) average number of days taken to process ARC cards for unaccompanied minors in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Kevin Foster
An Application Registration Card (ARC) is produced as a routine part of the registration process for asylum applicants, and is not an immigration product in its own right which people apply for.
The system will produce and deliver an ARC within three days of the asylum screening taking place. ARC figures broken down as requested are not available in a reportable format and to provide the information could only be done at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been arrested under the Vagrancy Act 1824 in London in each of the last ten years for which figures are available.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Home Office does not centrally hold the information requested.
The Home Office collects and publishes data on arrests made by police forces in England and Wales. The most recent statistics, including a breakdown of arrests by police force area, covering the year ending 31 March 2021 can be found in Section 3 here: Police powers and procedures: Stop and search and arrests, England and Wales, year ending 31 March 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
These data only cover arrests for notifiable offences and therefore will not include arrests made under the Vagrancy Act 1824.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the budget of the Metropolitan Police Service was in each of the last 12 years for which figures are available.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size of the police workforce in England and Wales on a biannual basis in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here: Police workforce England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Information on the total number of police officers by rank and Police Force Area as at the 31st March each year since 2007, can be found in the workforce open data tables published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-open-data-tables
While the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin remains the key measure of the size of the police workforce, as part of the Police Officer Uplift Programme, the Home Office also publishes a quarterly update on the number of officers (headcount terms only) in England and Wales, also broken down by PFA. Data are available here: Police Officer uplift statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The Home Office also collects and publishes data on agreed police funding in England and Wales from the financial year ending March 2016 on an annual basis in the ‘Police funding for England and Wales statistics’, available here: Police funding for England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Force-level funding breakdowns before the financial year ending March 2016 are not available due to a number of significant changes in the structure of police funding and policing.
For 2022/23, the Metropolitan Police Service will receive up to £3,236.5 million.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police constables have been employed in the Metropolitan Police Service in each of the last 12 years for which figures are available.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size of the police workforce in England and Wales on a biannual basis in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here: Police workforce England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Information on the total number of police officers by rank and Police Force Area as at the 31st March each year since 2007, can be found in the workforce open data tables published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-open-data-tables
While the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin remains the key measure of the size of the police workforce, as part of the Police Officer Uplift Programme, the Home Office also publishes a quarterly update on the number of officers (headcount terms only) in England and Wales, also broken down by PFA. Data are available here: Police Officer uplift statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The Home Office also collects and publishes data on agreed police funding in England and Wales from the financial year ending March 2016 on an annual basis in the ‘Police funding for England and Wales statistics’, available here: Police funding for England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Force-level funding breakdowns before the financial year ending March 2016 are not available due to a number of significant changes in the structure of police funding and policing.
For 2022/23, the Metropolitan Police Service will receive up to £3,236.5 million.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to proposals in the 2021 Queen’s Speech on reforms to the immigration system, what steps her Department is taking to (a) meet the specific experiences and needs of LGBTQ+ asylum seekers and (b) ensure that LGBTQ+ asylum seekers are not penalised in their asylum applications in the event that they do not reveal their sexual orientation or gender identity immediately upon arrival in the UK.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office has and continues to work closely with a diverse range of organisations specialising in asylum and human rights protection to lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people (LGBTQ+) communities, not only to facilitate the development of bespoke guidance and training products but also to further our work for LGBTQ+ within our asylum system.
We ensure LGBTQ+ asylum seekers are signposted to relevant NGOs specialising in the support of these individuals. This is done through an information leaflet given to all asylum claimants at the point of claim which includes sections on legal advice, additional help and assistance with links to relevant legal bodies and support organisations. LGBTQ+ asylum seekers can also access support from Rainbow Migration (formerly the UK Lesbian & Gay Immigration Group), who provide both practical and emotional support for LGBTQ+ people including how to help improve their confidence and self-esteem and to reduce isolation.
The Home Office recognises discussing persecution may often be distressing and those seeking asylum are given every opportunity to disclose information relevant to their claim before a decision is taken. Our caseworkers are very mindful many asylum seekers come from cultures which shun any open expression or discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity. We recognise the intimate nature of disclosure set against the individual’s cultural background may have made it difficult for some to disclose and discuss their sexuality or gender identity with officials at a port of entry.
Where it appears a claimant has been in the UK for a prolonged period of time before either coming to immigration attention or voluntarily seeking protection, this will be explored with the claimant. Consideration will be given to any explanation offered for not seeking protection at the first available opportunity, or for not disclosing the issue of sexuality or gender identity as a claim basis at the first available opportunity. Adverse inference however will not solely be drawn from someone not having immediately identified their sexual or gender identity as a basis to their claim.
Asked by: Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will ensure that all protected characteristics are treated equally under hate crime legislation in advance of the Law Commission’s final report in respect of its Hate Crime review.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
In 2018, the Government asked the Law Commission to undertake a review of current hate crime legislation, including whether additional protected characteristics, such as sex, gender and age, should be included.
The Law Commission is due to publish its recommendations later this year, following which the Government will formally respond.