Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Minister for Crime and Policing’s letter of 3 June 2021 on the Safer Streets Fund, where the 10 re-deployable CCTV cameras, 137 secure doors and 350 crime prevention packs will be distributed in Newcastle upon Tyne East constituency.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
On 3 June, we announced 50 projects have been awarded a total of £18.4 million from the second round of the Safer Streets Fund to invest in crime prevention projects to tackle neighbourhood crimes, such as burglary, vehicle theft and robbery.
Newcastle City Council was successful in receiving £431,967 of funding to target the area of Byker located in the east of Newcastle, an area disproportionately affected by neighbourhood crimes. Proposed interventions will be delivered over the 2021/22 financial year.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of means-testing the spouse visa fee.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Immigration and nationality fees are kept under review and we ensure they are within the parameters agreed with HM Treasury and Parliament, as set out in Section 68 (9) of the Immigration Act 2014. Full details can be reviewed via the following link:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/22/section/68.
These include the cost of processing the application, the wider cost of running the migration, borders and citizenship system and the benefits which are likely to accrue from a successful application.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of covid-19 legislation, including enforcing social distancing and mask-wearing, on levels of violence and abuse experienced by shop workers.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
There are no official figures on the number of assaults in a retail setting.
This Government recognises that the abuse and physical violence faced by shop staff can have a significant impact on their health, not only physically but mentally and emotionally. These crimes are unacceptable, and the Home Office is working closely with retailers and trade organisations through the National Retail Crime Steering Group to reduce violence and abuse in retail settings.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department issues to police forces on the provision of photographic evidence, where available, to people who have committed road traffic offences.
Answered by Mike Penning
The Home Office has not issued any guidance on the provision of photographic evidence to those who have committed road traffic offences.
This is an operational matter for individual Chief Officers of police.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans the Government has to publish the outcome of its consultation with local authorities on the resettling of child refugees under the Immigration Act 2016.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The UK Government takes it’s responsibility in all cases involving children seriously and we will continue to ensure that all unaccompanied children are provided with appropriate care, regardless of their route to the UK.
It is important that we work with local authorities to understand their capacity to support all unaccompanied children and ensure their needs can be met. That is why my officials are working closely with the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Education to ensure consultation with local authorities is consistent and coordinated across all resettlement and relocation programmes. Consultation with local government partners will take place over the coming weeks and Parliament will be updated in due course.
We are keen to ensure that there is a more equitable distribution of unaccompanied children across the UK and that no local authority is required to take more children than they can support.
The Home Office provides funding to local authorities for the care of unaccompanied asylum seeking children and recently announced new enhanced rates to support the transfer scheme. We will continue to measure the impacts on local authorities, but are clear that funding for unaccompanied asylum seeking children and refugees must be aligned, regardless of the route of entry for the child.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria the Government plans to use to assess the suitability of a local authority's capacity to provide suitable care for resettled children under the Immigration Act 2016.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The UK Government takes it’s responsibility in all cases involving children seriously and we will continue to ensure that all unaccompanied children are provided with appropriate care, regardless of their route to the UK.
It is important that we work with local authorities to understand their capacity to support all unaccompanied children and ensure their needs can be met. That is why my officials are working closely with the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Education to ensure consultation with local authorities is consistent and coordinated across all resettlement and relocation programmes. Consultation with local government partners will take place over the coming weeks and Parliament will be updated in due course.
We are keen to ensure that there is a more equitable distribution of unaccompanied children across the UK and that no local authority is required to take more children than they can support.
The Home Office provides funding to local authorities for the care of unaccompanied asylum seeking children and recently announced new enhanced rates to support the transfer scheme. We will continue to measure the impacts on local authorities, but are clear that funding for unaccompanied asylum seeking children and refugees must be aligned, regardless of the route of entry for the child.