Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department when procuring services from external suppliers measures the risk of human trafficking taking place during the provision of such services; and what plans his Department has to reduce that risk.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Tackling modern slavery is a priority for the Home Office and it is committed to working with suppliers to address modern slavery in its supply chains. Home Office procurement teams use the Standard Selection Questionnaire introduced in September 2016. This includes Mandatory Exclusion Grounds for any bidders convicted of human trafficking or slavery offences.
The Home Office is working with other departments to agree an effective approach to further assessing and managing the risk of human trafficking in supply chains across Government.
Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department when procuring services from external suppliers measures the risk of human trafficking taking place during the provision of such services; and what plans his Department has to reduce that risk.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Tackling modern slavery is a priority for the Home Office and it is committed to working with suppliers to address modern slavery in its supply chains. Home Office procurement teams use the Standard Selection Questionnaire introduced in September 2016. This includes Mandatory Exclusion Grounds for any bidders convicted of human trafficking or slavery offences.
The Home Office is working with other departments to agree an effective approach to further assessing and managing the risk of human trafficking in supply chains across Government.
Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether UK companies were able to bid for the contracts to manufacture (a) Dutch and (b) French passports.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
It is not the responsibility of the Home Office to collect data relating to passport manufacture contracts for other nations.
Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential effect on (a) cross-border trade and (b) smuggling of the introduction of minimum unit pricing for alcohol in Scotland; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The impact assessment carried out in 2012 by the previous Government on introducing MUP in England and Wales examined possible risks of both smuggling and consumers purchasing lower cost alcohol from across the border.
That assessment found that this would be unlikely to become a significant issue as the costs associated with travelling across borders from the main centres of population in Scotland were deemed likely to outweigh the benefits of purchasing a cheaper product. Minimum Unit Pricing and its effects will continue to remain under review pending the impact of its implementation in Scotland.
Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many exhibitors attended the Home Office Security and Policing event in each year since 2012.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The Home Office Security & Policing event is organised by the UK Aerospace, Defence & Security (ADS) trade body on behalf of the Home Office. ADS are responsible for the administrative arrangements and hold data on exhibitor and visitor numbers which is not routinely published.
Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visitors attended the Home Office Security and Policing event in each year since 2012.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The Home Office Security & Policing event is organised by the UK Aerospace, Defence & Security (ADS) trade body on behalf of the Home Office. ADS are responsible for the administrative arrangements and hold data on exhibitor and visitor numbers which is not routinely published.
Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to make a decision on whether to award Special Grant Funding for the Lancashire Constabulary to cover the costs of the anti-fracking protests in the area.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The Lancashire PCC has submitted an application for Special Grant funding for the costs of policing the anti-fracking protests in Lancashire. This is currently being reviewed by HMICFRS and a decision will be made in due course.
Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the equity of the fee to apply for settled status in the UK; and whether she plans to waive the fee for applicants for settled status who are non-UK citizens and who apply because the UK is leaving the EU.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The Home Office firmly believes that the application fee to settle in the United Kingdom (UK) is fair and is representative of the benefits available to those choosing to permanently reside here. Visa, immigration and citizenship fees are set at a level that helps provide resources necessary to operate the border, immigration and citizenship (BIC) system, reducing burden on the UK taxpayer.
On 19th October 2017, Theresa May wrote a letter to EU citizens and their family members resident within the UK to reaffirm that citizens’ rights are the first priority, and that we are developing a streamlined digital process for those applying for settled status. The cost of which will be kept as low as possible and will be no more than the cost of a UK passport.
The Prime Minister's letter is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pms-open-letter-to-eu-citizens-in-the-uk
Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Thai citizens were approved to visit the UK and failed to return to Thailand in 2016.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The Home Office does not publish the specific information for the time period requested. However, information on the number of visas issued to Thai nationals can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-april-to-june-2017, and information regarding exit checks is available in the most recent Home Office report on exit check data which was published on 24th August.
Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to waive the fee for those applications for settled status from non-UK EU citizens, as a result of the UK's decision to leave the EU.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The Government’s policy paper (Cm 9464), which was laid before Parliament on 26 June, sets out our proposals that European Union (EU) citizens who arrive in the UK before the specified date and have five years’ continuous residence in the UK will be able to apply for UK settled status.
Fees and charges are being considered as part of the negotiations. Our aim is to offer a streamlined and high quality service for everyone, keeping any fees at a reasonable level. Further details on the scheme will be provided in due course.