Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the Freedom of Information request dated 13 August 2025 submitted by the Hon. Member for Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The FOI referred to was answered on 19 September 2025.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to support shop workers who are victims of retail crime.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The Government recognises the significant impact crime can have, not only on businesses but also the wider community and consumers. I have been clear I expect a zero-tolerance approach to retail crime and shoplifting and have recently taken significant steps to improve the police response.
In October 2023, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) published the Retail Crime Action Plan. Through this Plan, all forces across England and Wales have committed to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel. Additionally, where CCTV or other digital images are secured, the police will run this through the Police National Database to aid efforts to identify prolific offenders or potentially dangerous individuals.
This builds on the NPCC commitment that police forces across England and Wales will follow up all crimes where there is actionable evidence and the chance of identifying an offender.
In 2022, we introduced a statutory aggravating factor for assault against those who are serving the public. Section 156 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 means the public facing nature of a victim’s role will be considered an aggravating factor when it comes to sentencing for assault offences, allowing the court to give a longer sentence within the statutory maximum for the offence.
These legislative and operational changes will go a long way to provide a better response to victims. We are continuing to work closely with retail businesses, security representatives, trade associations and policing through the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) to ensure the response to retail crime is as robust as it can be for the victims of this crime.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, the average length of time which individual hotels are used to temporarily house asylum seekers; and whether her department sets target dates to vacate these hotels.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Successive years of record numbers crossing the Channel has placed our immigration system under substantial pressure. The use of contingency accommodation is a temporary solution to ensure that we meet our statutory obligation to house destitute asylum seekers.
The length of stay in the contingency hotel accommodation is determined by a number of factors such as overall demand and availability of suitable dispersal accommodation. The government is committed to reducing the flow of people through deepening cooperation with France, implementing the Nationality and Borders Act, and signing returns agreements. The average length of stay in our contingency hotels is 6 to 12 months due to the current accommodation and capacity challenges. The Full Dispersal model, announced on 13 April 2022, aims to reduce, and ultimately, end the use of hotels by allowing the Home Office to procure dispersal properties within the private rental sector in all Local Authority areas across England, Scotland and Wales.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how long her Department intends to use the two hotels in the South Staffordshire District Council area to temporarily house asylum seekers.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Successive years of record numbers crossing the Channel has placed our immigration system under substantial pressure. The use of contingency accommodation is a temporary solution to ensure that we meet our statutory obligation to house destitute asylum seekers.
The length of stay in the contingency hotel accommodation is determined by a number of factors such as overall demand and availability of suitable dispersal accommodation. The government is committed to reducing the flow of people through deepening cooperation with France, implementing the Nationality and Borders Act, and signing returns agreements. The average length of stay in our contingency hotels is 6 to 12 months due to the current accommodation and capacity challenges. The Full Dispersal model, announced on 13 April 2022, aims to reduce, and ultimately, end the use of hotels by allowing the Home Office to procure dispersal properties within the private rental sector in all Local Authority areas across England, Scotland and Wales.