Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of P&O Ferries' mass dismissal of UK resident seafarers employed on cross-channel routes on 17 March 2022 on the operation of the UK-France Maritime Security Treaty.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The UK-France Maritime Security Treaty sets out the UK and France’s shared preparedness for and joint response to a high threat security incident on a vessel in the Channel.
We do not expect recent decisions by P&O ferries to affect the operation of the Treaty, and we will continue to work closely with the Department for Transport, industry, and France to ensure the Treaty is implemented smoothly and effectively.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what minimum service level agreements her Department has in place with companies that administer asylum seeker accommodation in respect to the maintenance of their properties.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The current Asylum Accommodation and Support Services Contracts commenced in September 2019 and are provided by three commercial providers.
The contracts are published and in the public domain. Further information can be found at: New asylum accommodation contracts awarded - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The Home Office have access to providers’ systems to monitor compliance.
The Asylum Accommodation and Support Services contracts have a robust performance management system, against which providers are expected to deliver. This is supplemented by a formal governance process which includes quarterly Strategic Review Management Boards and monthly Contract Management Groups. Service credits and subsequent improvement plans are discussed and monitored as part of this process. Service Delivery Managers speak daily with providers about service delivery and performance. In response to the global pandemic, officials also have formal meetings on a weekly basis to ensure individuals are housed safely, services are delivered in line with their contractual obligations and adherence to guidance from Public Health England (PHE) is followed.
Asylum seekers can also raise specific issues or concerns about their accommodation through the 24/7 Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility (AIRE) service operated by Migrant Help. The Home Office and our providers receive feedback on complaints raised through our regular dialogue with Migrant Help, which enables attention to be focussed on particular areas of concern.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the number of verbal and/or physical attacks on workers during the covid-19 outbreak, by sector of the economy.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
There are no official figures for the number of verbal or physical attacks on workers during the covid-19 outbreak.
The Home Office collects data relating to assaults and threats made against staff in different business sectors via the Commercial Victimisation Survey (CVS). However, the latest estimates are from the 2018 CVS, available in the link below.
Survey results for the year ending March 2021 will be available in March 2022 and will cover only the wholesale and retail sector.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the standard of temporary asylum accommodation in the UK; and what plans she has to increase the amount of available accommodation as part of the New Plan for Immigration.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We expect appropriate standards from our providers, who are expected to conduct regular checks across the accommodation estate. Throughout the pandemic, the ability to inspect accommodation in the usual way has faced some understandable logistical challenges, however we have robust systems in place to monitor and ensure continued accordance with the standards of service we and those we accommodate expect.
Service users can also raise specific issues or concerns about their accommodation through the 24/7 Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility (AIRE) service operated by Migrant Help. The Home Office and our providers receive feedback on complaints raised through our regular dialogue with Migrant Help, which enables attention to be focussed on any areas of concern.
All Asylum Accommodation and Support Services contracts (AASC) must adhere the Asylum Accommodation and Support Schedule Statement of Requirements. The standards of accommodation and service are set within the AASC contract and represent a higher standard of quality than the preceding COMPASS contracts.
The new contracts have resulted in significant investment in the accommodation estate and its itinerary – improved facilities in Initial Accommodation, clear requirements on room sharing and greater inventory in Dispersal Accommodation. The new AIRE contract also introduces more independent and transparent oversight of standards through clearer complaints mechanisms for service users and supporting data which allows more intelligent targeting of performance improvement.
We are working closely with local authorities across the UK to secure additional accommodation and ensure service users can move through and ‘move-on’ from the support system. We urge local authorities to work with us to identify new accommodation.
Procurement of properties is being conducted at pace, but in all cases is subject to the consultation process set out within the Asylum Accommodation Support Contracts (AASC), whereby Local Authorities are able to raise objections to procurement of each specific property being proposed for use.
The Home Office is committed to working closely with communities and stakeholders to ensure destitute asylum seekers are housed in safe, secure and suitable accommodation, and they are treated with dignity while their asylum claim is considered.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the roll out and implementation of the Afghanistan resettlement scheme; and when hon. Members will receive a detailed briefing on that scheme.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
On 18th August the Prime Minister announced a new and bespoke Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) to relocate 5,000 vulnerable Afghans in its first year, rising to 20,000 over the long-term – one of the most generous schemes in British history.
On 6th September, the Prime Minister provided further information on the Scheme, including announcing that those arriving through the ACRS will be granted immediate Indefinite Leave to Remain, allowing them to benefit from full rights and entitlements and providing them with the certainty and stability they need to build their life here.
Given the current complex picture in Afghanistan and its neighbouring countries, it is important that the Government fully considers the operational delivery of the scheme with its international partners. We are working urgently to open this route and further details will be announced in due course on gov.uk. Parliamentarians will be kept informed in the usual ways.
The ACRS is an integral part of the UK’s response to the humanitarian situation and will provide protection for thousands of Afghan citizens and other refugees identified as most at risk.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any part of the asylum casework process is outsourced by her Department.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
No part of the asylum case work process has been outsourced by her department. Asylum interviews have not been outsourced, at this stage we are only exploring the potential feasibility.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the change in the number of hate crime incidents since the onset of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales on an annual basis.
The next scheduled release of such data is on 13 October and this will include an analysis of changes in levels of hate crime since the onset of the covid-19 outbreak.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how long on average it takes her Department (a) to make an initial decision on asylum applications and (b) to carry out substantive interviews with asylum applicants.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not publish data on how long it takes to make an initial decision on asylum applications or to carry out a substantive interview.
However, the Home Office does publish data on the number asylum applications awaiting an initial decision by duration. This data can be found at This data can be found at Asy_04 of the published Immigration Statistics:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-june-2020/list-of-tables
The Home Office are committed to ensuring asylum claims are considered without unnecessary delay, individuals who need protection are granted asylum as soon as possible and can start to integrate and rebuild their lives, including those granted at appeal.
Whilst we take steps to increase capacity, with focus on process improvements, to deliver better quality decisions, more efficiently, we have moved away from the six-month service standard to concentrate on older claims, cases with acute vulnerability and those in receipt of the greatest level of support, including Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC). Additionally, we are prioritising cases where an individual has already received a decision, but a reconsideration is required. The intention is for this approach to bring balance back to the asylum system.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of asylum applications are granted upon first application.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office routinely publishes information on the total number of initial decisions on asylum applications, by outcome. This data can be found at This data can be found at Asy_02a of the published Immigration Statistics:
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that fire and rescue services conduct covid-secure home safety assessments during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) has provided guidance to Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs), to support the safe resumption of prevention activities, including Home Fire Safety Visits (HFSVs)
FRSs will adopt a risk- based approach to HFSVs to avoid the spread of Covid-19 to vulnerable groups and to protect staff, while continuing to deliver their statutory duty of promoting fire safety. The NFCC guidance provides factors that FRSs should consider when working in the home setting. The guidance is available on the NFCC website: https://www.nationalfirechiefs.org.uk/write/MediaUploads/COVID-19/prevention/Strategic_Intention_COVID-19_Prevention.pdf
During the pandemic the Home Office has continued to collaborate with the NFCC through the Fire Kills campaign to raise awareness of pertinent fire safety messages. Campaign materials were developed and made available online and to fire and rescue services to support local interventions addressing specific and topical issues.