Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will support the award of the Platinum Jubilee Medal to former as well as serving members of the police.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
This Government is steadfast in our support for the police. It is right that those serving on the front line in our emergency services are recognised in the award of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee medal. The medal allocations for the police and other services have now been finalised and officers who meet the criteria can expect to receive their medals in the coming weeks and months as we enter the jubilee year.
The criteria for jubilee medals are agreed on a cross-government basis. The criteria apply equally to the current workforce in other services including fire, ambulance and the armed forces, and have been established based on the precedent set for previous Jubilee Medals.
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her timetable is for restoring pre-covid-19 service standards for (a) asylum applications and (b) other UK Visas and Immigration services.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Information on our immigration routes with service standards and whether they have been processed against these standards is available as part of our transparency data at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data#uk-visas-and-immigration
We have already made significant progress in prioritising asylum claims with acute vulnerability and those in receipt of the greatest level of support, including Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children. Additionally, we are prioritising older claims and those where an individual has already received a decision, but a reconsideration is required.
The Home Office are pursuing a programme of transformation and business improvement initiatives which will speed up decision making, reduce the time people spend in the system and reduce the numbers who are awaiting an interview or decision. This includes almost doubling decision makers number to c.1,000 and providing improved training and career progression opportunities to aid retention of staff. We are continuing to develop existing and new technology to help build on recent improvements such as digital interviewing and move away from a paper-based system.
We have three key areas of focus in the short to medium term to reduce the number of outstanding asylum cases by improving efficiency and productivity, reducing the number of outstanding claims and building high performing teams. We are streamlining and digitalising the case working process to enable more effective workflow, appointment booking and decision-making. Asylum Operations are working to reintroduce a service standard and will be looking towards aligning potentially with changes being brought about by the New Plan for Immigration.
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people accused of murder have been successfully extradited to India since the signing of the UK-India Extradition Treaty in 1992.
Answered by Kevin Foster
From the available information, there has been one extradition to India for an individual accused of murder during this timeframe. There have been three extraditions from India to the UK for the same offence during this period.
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Leave to Remain family and private life applications were processed within six months in (a) 2019 and (b) 2020.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Family and Private Life leave to remain applications are captured as part of the data referred to as “HR Complex” here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-protection-data-february-2021
Family and Private Life applications are not currently subject to a service standard; this is due to their complexity, relying as they tend to on human rights claims. Each application is considered carefully on its own individual merits and with reference to the supporting documents provided.
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Leave to Remain private life applications were processed within six months in (a) 2019 and (b) 2020.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Private life is an element within Family and Private Life applications, which is collectively captured as part of the data referred to as “HR Complex” here;
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-protection-data-february-2021
Private Life is not recorded as a discrete category of application and therefore it is not possible to separate this element out.
We are unable to provide the number of Private Life applications processed within six months during 2019 and 2020 because to do so would result in publication of unassured data.
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will conduct an assessment of police use of tasers on (a) Black, Asian and minority ethnic children and (b) other children.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government is clear that all use of force must be reasonable, proportionate and necessary and that no one should be subject to use of force based on their race or ethnicity.
All Officers receive comprehensive training in assessing the potential vulnerabilities of a person, including their size age and size.
When police officers take the difficult decision to use force, they are accountable through the law for their actions.
The Home Office publishes annual statistics on the use of force to allow for scrutiny of police use of force including taser and other less lethal weapons.