Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department most recently discussed with Sefton Council the potential placement within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton of people claiming asylum.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office are engaged with a number of local authorities on sourcing appropriate accommodation for asylum seekers. We are committed to engaging with local authorities and local partners to support successful delivery. The Home Office most recently met with Sefton Council on 12th January 2023 to discuss asylum support in the area.
As detailed in the Prime Minister’s statement to the house on 13th December, the Home Office are identifying options to provide alternative accommodation to support asylum seekers, this includes exploring the use of holiday parks. The Home Office are engaged with a number of local authorities, including Sefton Council, on sourcing appropriate accommodation for asylum seekers.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has discussed with Sefton Council the use of holiday parks in the borough as accommodation for people claiming asylum.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office are engaged with a number of local authorities on sourcing appropriate accommodation for asylum seekers. We are committed to engaging with local authorities and local partners to support successful delivery. The Home Office most recently met with Sefton Council on 12th January 2023 to discuss asylum support in the area.
As detailed in the Prime Minister’s statement to the house on 13th December, the Home Office are identifying options to provide alternative accommodation to support asylum seekers, this includes exploring the use of holiday parks. The Home Office are engaged with a number of local authorities, including Sefton Council, on sourcing appropriate accommodation for asylum seekers.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has had recent discussions with Sefton Council on the potential placement of people claiming asylum within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The record number of people that have crossed the Channel in small boats in recent years has placed the Home Office’s asylum support infrastructure and accommodation services under immense pressure.
The Home Office are engaged with many councils such as Sefton in respect of finding appropriate accommodation for Asylum accommodation in line with our statutory obligations.
When a site becomes available and meets the requirements of our accommodation standards, we follow our engagement process and notify the local MP as well as local authority officials in advance of using the location.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to relocate asylum seekers to Sefton Borough.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office is currently not looking to relocate asylum seekers to Sefton Borough at this present time. However, the unprecedented number of illegal Channel crossings have placed our immigration system under immense strain and our accommodation providers continue to consider contingency accommodation in all areas.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of in-work exploitation or abuse of migrants with no recourse to public funds.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The hidden nature of modern slavery makes producing an accurate measure of its scale difficult. In March 2020 the Office for National Statistics noted that there is no definitive source of data or suitable method available to accurately quantify the number of potential victims of modern slavery in the UK. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/modernslaveryintheuk/march2020
Nevertheless, the Government is committed to improving its understanding of the nature and scale of this complex crime. In July 2019, the Government announced a £10 million investment to create a new Policy and Evidence Centre for Modern Slavery and Human Rights to transform our understanding of modern slavery. The Home Office will continue working with the Centre and other partners to strengthen the evidence base underpinning our policy and operational response to modern slavery.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of levels of in-work exploitation or abuse among migrants with no recourse to public funds.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The hidden nature of modern slavery makes producing an accurate measure of its scale difficult. In March 2020 the Office for National Statistics noted that there is no definitive source of data or suitable method available to accurately quantify the number of potential victims of modern slavery in the UK. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/modernslaveryintheuk/march2020
Nevertheless, the Government is committed to improving its understanding of the nature and scale of this complex crime. In July 2019, the Government announced a £10 million investment to create a new Policy and Evidence Centre for Modern Slavery and Human Rights to transform our understanding of modern slavery. The Home Office will continue working with the Centre and other partners to strengthen the evidence base underpinning our policy and operational response to modern slavery.