Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers are currently housed in Northern Ireland in hotels, initial accommodation, dispersal accommodation and contingency accommodation.
Answered by Alex Norris - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Data on asylum seekers in receipt of Home Office support in Northern Ireland is published by accommodation type and nationality in table Asy_D09 and by accommodation type and local authority in table Asy_D11 of the 'Asylum support detailed datasets’.
The latest data relates to as at 31 March 2026. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the timeliness of the Information Commissioner's Office in investigating complaints concerning the handling of special category health data.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
While DSIT acts as the ICO's sponsor department within government, the ICO is an independent regulator accountable to Parliament. The ICO has a statutory duty to investigate complaints from data subjects to the extent appropriate and reports annually to Parliament on its approach to complaints and investigations.
The ICO does not publish complaint handling times by category of personal data. However, it triages all complaints based on the level of harm that alleged non-compliant practices may pose to data subjects.
To address its backlog, the ICO has introduced a new data protection complaints framework setting out how it assesses and prioritises each case. In addition, the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 introduced a new requirement for all data controllers to establish procedures for responding to complaints, aiming to resolve issues at the earliest stage and reduce premature escalation to the ICO.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the clinical independence and impartiality of occupational health assessments commissioned from external providers by employers, including public sector bodies, and what safeguards are in place to prevent management objectives from influencing the clinical content of those assessments.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not regulate occupational health providers or oversee individual clinical assessments commissioned by employers. Occupational health providers are required to comply with relevant legal and professional requirements, including data protection law and common law duties of confidentiality. Individuals generally retain the right to withdraw consent to the processing or sharing of their personal information, although this may be subject to other legal obligations.
Occupational health services are typically commissioned directly by employers, including public sector organisations, who are responsible for the governance and quality of those services. Healthcare professionals undertaking occupational health assessments are expected to exercise independent clinical judgement and are bound by the professional standards of their regulatory bodies. Employers may draw on guidance from bodies such as the Health and Safety Executive and professional occupational health organisations when commissioning services.
The Department keeps the broader work and health system under review and works with stakeholders to promote good practice across occupational health provision.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that occupational health providers acting for employers respect an individual's right to withdraw consent during an assessment, and do not disclose information about that individual to their employer once consent has been withdrawn.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not regulate occupational health providers or oversee individual clinical assessments commissioned by employers. Occupational health providers are required to comply with relevant legal and professional requirements, including data protection law and common law duties of confidentiality. Individuals generally retain the right to withdraw consent to the processing or sharing of their personal information, although this may be subject to other legal obligations.
Occupational health services are typically commissioned directly by employers, including public sector organisations, who are responsible for the governance and quality of those services. Healthcare professionals undertaking occupational health assessments are expected to exercise independent clinical judgement and are bound by the professional standards of their regulatory bodies. Employers may draw on guidance from bodies such as the Health and Safety Executive and professional occupational health organisations when commissioning services.
The Department keeps the broader work and health system under review and works with stakeholders to promote good practice across occupational health provision.