Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to reply to the further chasing letter to the Minister for Future Borders and Immigration from the hon. Member for Harrow West of 9 November 2021, regarding his constituent Arian Sherzai and the safety of relatives in Afghanistan.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Minister for Afghan Resettlement wrote to all members on 13 September 2021 and re-affirmed in her statement to the House on 6th January 2022 informing them that we could not pursue cases concerning Afghan people in country in the usual ways in view of the very difficult circumstances in Afghanistan. The Minister advised members to signpost individuals to gov.uk to check for the latest information about Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) rather than to seek to pursue cases on their behalf.
As a result, any correspondence received from Members during the Afghan evacuation period (including chaser enquiries) relating to Afghan people in country have and will not receive a substantive response.
The letter received from the hon. Member on 9 November 2021 was chasing a response to his earlier letter of 24 August 2021 meaning no substantive response will be sent.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has had any (a) financial contract and (b) meetings with (i) Clifford Chance LLP, (ii) FTI Consulting and (iii) Fenchurch Advisory Partners in the last five years; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Damian Hinds
The Home Office does not hold any financial contracts nor has it had meetings with the companies mentioned within the last five years.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff have been employed to answer emergency calls to fire services (a) nationally (b) at each regional hub in each of the last 5 years; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Department collects and publishes data on the number of control centre staff by FRS. In 2021, the total number of staff employed in call centres was 1169. Further detail is available on the website.
The Department does not collect data relating to average waiting times for calls to the fire and rescue services. However, the Department does collect and publish call handling times, or ‘response times’. This is available at:
The fire and rescue services do not have regional control centres. There are, 32 control rooms in England. However, some FRSs share control rooms; others have their own.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time was for answering an emergency call to the fire services (a) nationally and (b) by regional fire service emergency call centres on a (i) Friday night and (ii) Saturday night in each of the last 5 years.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Department collects and publishes data on the number of control centre staff by FRS. In 2021, the total number of staff employed in call centres was 1169. Further detail is available on the website.
The Department does not collect data relating to average waiting times for calls to the fire and rescue services. However, the Department does collect and publish call handling times, or ‘response times’. This is available at:
The fire and rescue services do not have regional control centres. There are, 32 control rooms in England. However, some FRSs share control rooms; others have their own.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, w if he will publish a list of each regional call centre that handles emergency calls to fire services in England.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Department collects and publishes data on the number of control centre staff by FRS. In 2021, the total number of staff employed in call centres was 1169. Further detail is available on the website.
The Department does not collect data relating to average waiting times for calls to the fire and rescue services. However, the Department does collect and publish call handling times, or ‘response times’. This is available at:
The fire and rescue services do not have regional control centres. There are, 32 control rooms in England. However, some FRSs share control rooms; others have their own.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff have been employed to answer emergency calls to police forces (a) nationally (b) at each regional hub in each of the last 5 years; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The handling of 999 emergency calls is an operational matter for the police. It is for Chief Constables and democratically elected Police and Crime Commissioners to decide how to deploy resources and handle communications with the public, based on their experience and knowledge of the communities they serve.
Information on the number of police staff dedicated to answering emergency calls to the police is not held centrally by the Home Office.
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:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales
Information on the number of police officers, police staff and Police Community Support Officers by function is published annually in tables F1, F2 and F3 accompanying the police workforce statistics as at 31 March. These include the number of police staff working under function 2b – Dealing with the Public (Central Communications Unit). Figures are given for all of England and Wales and also broken down by Police Force Area. A definition of what roles are included within function 2b can be found in table F4.
The Home Office does not have a list of regional call centres for emergency calls to police forces nor average waiting times for answers to emergency calls to the police nationally or regionally on i) Friday night and ii) Saturday night over the last five years. However, in the Beating Crime Plan, the Government has committed to publishing league tables for call answering times and ensuring that the public know how responsive their local force is when they call them for help. Publication is scheduled for May 2022.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time was for answering an emergency call to the police service (a) nationally and (b) by regional police emergency call centre on a (i) Friday night and (ii) Saturday night in each of the last five years.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The handling of 999 emergency calls is an operational matter for the police. It is for Chief Constables and democratically elected Police and Crime Commissioners to decide how to deploy resources and handle communications with the public, based on their experience and knowledge of the communities they serve.
Information on the number of police staff dedicated to answering emergency calls to the police is not held centrally by the Home Office.
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:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales
Information on the number of police officers, police staff and Police Community Support Officers by function is published annually in tables F1, F2 and F3 accompanying the police workforce statistics as at 31 March. These include the number of police staff working under function 2b – Dealing with the Public (Central Communications Unit). Figures are given for all of England and Wales and also broken down by Police Force Area. A definition of what roles are included within function 2b can be found in table F4.
The Home Office does not have a list of regional call centres for emergency calls to police forces nor average waiting times for answers to emergency calls to the police nationally or regionally on i) Friday night and ii) Saturday night over the last five years. However, in the Beating Crime Plan, the Government has committed to publishing league tables for call answering times and ensuring that the public know how responsive their local force is when they call them for help. Publication is scheduled for May 2022.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will publish a list of each regional call centre that handles emergency calls to police forces in England.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The handling of 999 emergency calls is an operational matter for the police. It is for Chief Constables and democratically elected Police and Crime Commissioners to decide how to deploy resources and handle communications with the public, based on their experience and knowledge of the communities they serve.
Information on the number of police staff dedicated to answering emergency calls to the police is not held centrally by the Home Office.
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:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales
Information on the number of police officers, police staff and Police Community Support Officers by function is published annually in tables F1, F2 and F3 accompanying the police workforce statistics as at 31 March. These include the number of police staff working under function 2b – Dealing with the Public (Central Communications Unit). Figures are given for all of England and Wales and also broken down by Police Force Area. A definition of what roles are included within function 2b can be found in table F4.
The Home Office does not have a list of regional call centres for emergency calls to police forces nor average waiting times for answers to emergency calls to the police nationally or regionally on i) Friday night and ii) Saturday night over the last five years. However, in the Beating Crime Plan, the Government has committed to publishing league tables for call answering times and ensuring that the public know how responsive their local force is when they call them for help. Publication is scheduled for May 2022.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many physical inspections to check for contraband goods took place at each port between Bristol and Worthing inclusive (a) by each port and (b) in total in each year since 2015; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Damian Hinds
Border Force does not routinely publish this level of data, relating to the number of customs interdictions undertaken by government officials in the UK, and at specific geographic locations or ports.