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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what humanitarian support the Government is offering in refugee camps in (a) Lesbos, (b) Idomeni, (c) Calais, (d) Dunkirk and (e) other locations.

James Brokenshire

Asylum seekers and refugees in other Member States are the responsibility of the authorities of those countries. Member States, furthermore, are bound by EU and international legal obligations to provide adequate care and reception to asylum seekers and refugees within their territory.

The UK, nevertheless, continues to provide practical support to other Member States and both France and the UK are committed to finding a sustainable solution to the situation in Calais. Under the UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August, the UK committed to providing a £3.6 million (or €5 million) per year for two years to help support a range of work to manage the migrant population in Calais, in particular to provide support and facilities elsewhere in France. Additionally, the UK has provided £530,000 (€750,000) to fund a project to identify those in the camps at risk of trafficking and exploitation, to transfer them to places of safety; and to provide them with appropriate support within the French system.

In addition to our work with France, we are also providing practical support to Greece through the European Asylum Support Office by deploying UK asylum experts to the border control ‘hotspot’ in Lesbos to assist with the swift screening of asylum applicants arriving there. We stand ready to provide further such assistance where necessary.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department spent on agency workers to cover clerical agency staff in each month since May 2015; and which companies provided those services.

Mike Penning

The information requested is published in the department’s annual accounts. These can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/217243/moj-annual-report-accounts-2010-11.pdf

http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/publications/corporate-reports/MoJ/2012/moj-annual-report-accounts-2011-12.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/208728/moj-annual-report-2012-13.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/323308/moj-annual-report-2013-14.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/434016/moj-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-15.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2015 to Question 18873, which companies provided the agency workers to cover operational uniformed staff in each month; and how much was paid to those companies.

Andrew Selous

We only use temporary staff to fill business critical posts and essential frontline services where they can provide a fast, flexible and efficient way to obtain necessary skills that are not currently available in-house. We continue to examine our use of consultants and agency staff to find savings where possible. We have committed to reducing our back office and administrative budget by 50% by 2020.

The company which provided the agency workers to cover operational uniformed costs in each month was Hays. £46,424,119 was paid to thembetween January 2014 and October 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether revenue received from the criminal courts charge has exceeded the cost to the public purse of running such courts since that charge was introduced.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The principle underlying the Criminal Courts Charge was for offenders to contribute towards the cost of running the Criminal Courts, not to cover the full running costs.

Data on the amount of the Criminal Courts Charge imposed and collected from April to September can be found here – https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-court-statistics.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many refugees have (a) died and (b) been injured during an attempt to reach Britain from the Calais refugee camp.

James Brokenshire

Data on migrants who have died or been injured is a matter for the French authorities and would be held by them.

The UK and France are unified in our joint efforts to address the migrant situation in Calais, and are clear that migrants should not risk their lives by making dangerous journeys in order to attempt to enter the UK illegally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has made to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees with regards to the Calais refugee camp.

James Brokenshire

The management of the migrant camps in Calais is the responsibility of the French Government. This includes decisions on whether to involve any particular organisation in the camps’ management.

The UK Government notes however the welcome given by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to the joint declaration to address the issues in Calais signed by the UK and France on 20 August 2015. The UNHCR welcomed the plan to move migrants away from Calais to suitable facilities elsewhere in France and the effort to identify those vulnerable to trafficking, particularly women and children. Both Governments agree with the UNHCR that Calais is a symptom of the wider migration issue facing Europe, which must be addressed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which Government Ministers or officials have visited the Calais refugee camp.

James Brokenshire

I have been to the Calais migrant camp and UK officials regularly visit the Jules Ferry Day Centre.