Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) target and (b) average time taken is between the completion of an immigration tribunal and the implementation of that tribunal's decision.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
Where the appeal has been allowed in favour of the appellant, the Home Office undertakes careful consideration of the judge’s determination in order to conclude whether to submit an application for permission to appeal within the time limits set by the Tribunal Procedure Committee.
Information on the average length of time taken to implement allowed appeals that we do not challenge is not readily available in a reliable format and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost through the examination of individual case files.
Statistics on appeals that have been determined by HM Courts and Tribunals Service are published quarterly. The most recent edition (Tribunals and gender recognitions certificates statistics quarterly: October to December 2018) is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunal-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2019
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to support convenience retailers in Woking that lost an estimated £125,763 due to shop theft, according to estimates of Association of Convenience Stores; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
All forms of retail crime are unacceptable, and everyone has the right to feel safe at work.
I chair the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) which brings together partners including the police, trade bodies including the Association of Convenience Stores - and retailers and is overseeing a range of work to tackle retail crime. This includes the collation and dissemination of good practice and developing guidance on the use of Impact Statements for Business, which give victims of business crime the opportunity to set out the impact the crime has had on the business, including, for example, financial loss. The NRCSG also continues to work with retailers to improve the management and response to shop theft using a partnership approach according to local circumstances.
Government encourages businesses to continue their efforts to protect themselves from crime, and I commend the investment that the convenient sector has made.
On 21 January I announced that we will launch a call for evidence on violence and abuse towards shop workers to strengthen our understanding of this issue, including how existing legislation is being applied.
In addition, the Sentencing Council is reviewing its guidelines on assault and a consultation on a revised guideline is anticipated to commence this Summer.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of implications for his policies of the findings of the Association of Convenience Stores Crime Report 2019 that (a) the total cost of crime for the convenience sector was £246 million, (b) there were 9,782 incidents of violence against people working in local shops and (c) convenience retailers had invested £4,080 per store in crime prevention equipment; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
All forms of retail crime are unacceptable, and everyone has the right to feel safe at work.
I chair the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) which brings together partners including the police, trade bodies including the Association of Convenience Stores - and retailers and is overseeing a range of work to tackle retail crime. This includes the collation and dissemination of good practice and developing guidance on the use of Impact Statements for Business, which give victims of business crime the opportunity to set out the impact the crime has had on the business, including, for example, financial loss. The NRCSG also continues to work with retailers to improve the management and response to shop theft using a partnership approach according to local circumstances.
Government encourages businesses to continue their efforts to protect themselves from crime, and I commend the investment that the convenient sector has made.
On 21 January I announced that we will launch a call for evidence on violence and abuse towards shop workers to strengthen our understanding of this issue, including how existing legislation is being applied.
In addition, the Sentencing Council is reviewing its guidelines on assault and a consultation on a revised guideline is anticipated to commence this Summer.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his department is taking to tackle (a) retail crime and (b) violence against shop-workers; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
All forms of retail crime are unacceptable, and everyone has the right to feel safe at work.
I chair the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) which brings together partners including the police, trade bodies including the Association of Convenience Stores - and retailers and is overseeing a range of work to tackle retail crime. This includes the collation and dissemination of good practice and developing guidance on the use of Impact Statements for Business, which give victims of business crime the opportunity to set out the impact the crime has had on the business, including, for example, financial loss. The NRCSG also continues to work with retailers to improve the management and response to shop theft using a partnership approach according to local circumstances.
Government encourages businesses to continue their efforts to protect themselves from crime, and I commend the investment that the convenient sector has made.
On 21 January I announced that we will launch a call for evidence on violence and abuse towards shop workers to strengthen our understanding of this issue, including how existing legislation is being applied.
In addition, the Sentencing Council is reviewing its guidelines on assault and a consultation on a revised guideline is anticipated to commence this Summer.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the recommendation of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants that the Government grant all (a) EEA and (b) Swiss nationals and family members resident in the UK the automatic right to remain.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
We have considered carefully the introduction of the EU Settlement Scheme and its implications for EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members, including whether we should automatically grant leave to remain. However, this would create ongoing confusion amongst EEA and Swiss citizens, their family members, employers and service providers as to their rights to remain in the UK and access benefits and services.
Requiring EEA and Swiss nationals to apply for and receive a status via the EU Settlement Scheme is key to ensuring life continues smoothly for them in the future. This will become particularly important when we move into the future immigration system as the resident population will need to be able to distinguish themselves from those who may have different rights.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many instances of metal theft from public property occurred in (a) Surrey, (b) the South East and (c) England in each of the last seven years.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The Home Office does not hold the requested information centrally.
The Home Office collects data on police recorded metal thefts, but it is not possible from these data to identify whether the crime was against public property or not.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published police recorded crime data on metal theft in Focus on Property Crime: year ending March 2016. This publication gives details of the number of metal theft offences in England and Wales in the year to March 2016 and compares this with the previous year.
The publication can be accessed here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/focusonpropertycrime/yearendingmarch2016
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of asylum seekers in (a) Woking constituency, (b) Surrey and (c) the UK were (i) granted and (ii) refused asylum and returned to their home country in each of the last seven years.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Whilst we can provide data on the current addresses of asylum claimants, data on the place of residence at the time of initial decision could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Data on asylum claim outcomes for the whole of the UK can be found at:
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many EU nationals were deported from the UK in each of the last seven years.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The number of enforced returns by country of nationality is published in table rt_02 (returns data tables) in ‘Immigration Statistics, October - December 2016’, available from the Home Office website at:
The term 'deportations' refers to a legal definition of a specific set of returns. Deportations are a specific subset of returns which are enforced either following a criminal conviction or when it is judged that a person’s removal from the UK is conducive to the public good. The deportation order prohibits the person returning to the UK until such time as it may be revoked. Published information on those deported is not separately available. As such, the question has been interpreted as referring to enforced returns. In an enforced return, it has been established that a person has breached UK immigration laws and / or has no valid leave to remain in the UK. They have declined to leave voluntarily and the Home Office enforces their departure from the UK.
Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many instances of metal theft from public property occurred in (a) Surrey, (b) the South East and (c) England in each of the last seven years.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The Home Office does not hold the requested information centrally.
The Home Office collects data on police recorded metal thefts, but it is not possible from these data to identify whether the crime was against public property or not.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published police recorded crime data on metal theft in Focus on Property Crime: year ending March 2016. This publication gives details of the number of metal theft offences in England and Wales in the year to March 2016 and compares this with the previous year.
The publication can be accessed here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/focusonpropertycrime/yearendingmarch2016