Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her department has made of the impact of failing to resolve the immigration status of children in care before turning 18.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Secretary set out in the Immigration White Paper published on 12 May 2025 that the Home Office will ensure children who have been in the UK for some time, turn 18 and discover they do not have status, are fully supported and able to regularise their status and settle where appropriate. This will also include a clear pathway for those children in care and care leavers.
This commitment will be delivered primarily through an update to the ‘children in care policy’. As part of this, separate targeted engagement will take place with external stakeholders to help us to understand the challenges in this area and develop a policy solution which supports children in care without status while upholding the need to have a robust and coherent migration system. Children who have claimed asylum are dealt with under separate provisions.
A range of reforms are underway across the immigration and asylum system, and the development of a clear pathway to settlement for children in care and care leavers must be considered alongside these changes.
Further detail on this will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that citizenship application fees are affordable for children who need to regularise their immigration status.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Children seeking to register as a British citizen will have the fee waived if they are able to credibly demonstrate that they cannot afford the fee. In addition, where an application has been made by or on behalf of a child who is looked after by a Local Authority, no fee is payable and it is not necessary for the child’s financial circumstances to be evidenced.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps is she taking to reform the Home Office Type Approval (HOTA) process for safety cameras to allow single units to carry out multiple functions.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We keep the Home Office Type Approval (HOTA) process under continuous review to ensure it is sufficient to assure equipment is sufficiently robust for evidential purposes.
My officials are currently carrying out a comprehensive review to update the HOTA standard in collaboration with safety camera manufacturers and suppliers and technical experts from the scientific community.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps is she taking to ensure the Home Office Type Approval (HOTA) process is able to respond quickly to emerging technologies.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We keep the Home Office Type Approval (HOTA) process under continuous review to ensure it is sufficient to assure equipment is sufficiently robust for evidential purposes.
My officials are currently carrying out a comprehensive review to update the HOTA standard in collaboration with safety camera manufacturers and suppliers and technical experts from the scientific community.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps is she taking to speed up the Home Office Type Approval (HOTA) process for safety cameras.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We keep the Home Office Type Approval (HOTA) process under continuous review to ensure it is sufficient to assure equipment is sufficiently robust for evidential purposes.
My officials are currently carrying out a comprehensive review to update the HOTA standard in collaboration with safety camera manufacturers and suppliers and technical experts from the scientific community.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to review regulations allowing police forces to remove officers suspected of gross misconduct.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In October last year, the Home Secretary announced a package of reforms to strengthen police misconduct.
That included a presumption of dismissal for proven gross misconduct, specified criminal offences automatically amounting to gross misconduct, and a presumption of accelerated hearings for former officers.
These changes to regulations are expected to be laid as soon as practicable in the coming months
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of immigration and asylum policies on poverty among migrant households.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government keeps all immigration and asylum policies under constant review and considers support for families with children noting the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, as required by section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of immigration and asylum policies on poverty among migrant children.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government keeps all immigration and asylum policies under constant review and considers support for families with children noting the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, as required by section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department's planned timetable is for announcing future funding settlements for (a) Violence Reduction Units and (v) the London Violence Reduction Unit.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We recognise the valuable work and significant progress that Violence Reductions Units (VRUs), including the London Violence Reduction Unit, have made in understanding and preventing serious violence.
All decisions on funding post March 2025 will be subject to the spending review.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to exemptions under Section 21 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of police powers to investigate criminal abuse at Ofsted regulated residential schools.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Ensuring that all children are effectively safeguarded is a key priority for this Government including those who are looked after, and in whatever type of placement they may be.
The Children’s Wellbeing Bill will put children and their wellbeing at the centre of the education and social care systems, and make changes so they are safe, healthy, happy and treated fairly.
The police have a range of powers to investigate allegations of criminal offences. This includes the power to apply for search warrants to search and seize relevant evidence and to enter properties without a warrant to arrest suspects for indictable offences.