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  • Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials in her Department have met (i) mobile telephone operators and (ii) BT to discuss the transfer of emergency calls made from mobile telephones to the wrong police force.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

    The 999/112 Liaison Committee, chaired by DCMS, provides a forum for representatives from Government; Communications Providers, including BT (which provides the 999 call handling agency) and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs); emergency services and Ofcom, to discuss 999 operational matters The LC’s main concern is the effective handling and transfer of emergency calls from the public, through call handling agents ,to emergency authorities.

    The “Code of Practice for the Public Emergency Call Service (PECS) between Communications Providers, Call Handing Agencies and the Emergency Authorities” sets out protocols governing 999 calls. This includes guidelines for the Emergency Authorities to manage any occasional situation in which an emergency 999 call is misdirected.

  • Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department provides to police forces on how to deal with a situation in which an emergency 999 call is erroneously directed to the wrong police force; and what procedures police forces have put in place to deal with such a situation.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

    The 999/112 Liaison Committee, chaired by DCMS, provides a forum for representatives from Government; Communications Providers, including BT (which provides the 999 call handling agency) and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs); emergency services and Ofcom, to discuss 999 operational matters The LC’s main concern is the effective handling and transfer of emergency calls from the public, through call handling agents ,to emergency authorities.

    The “Code of Practice for the Public Emergency Call Service (PECS) between Communications Providers, Call Handing Agencies and the Emergency Authorities” sets out protocols governing 999 calls. This includes guidelines for the Emergency Authorities to manage any occasional situation in which an emergency 999 call is misdirected.

  • Emma Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Emma Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2016 to Question 20287, when she plans to give a substantive answer to that question.

    James Brokenshire

    I refer the Honourable Member to the response I gave on 17 March 2016.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of people who were interviewed under caution (a) for all offences and (b) for sexual offences were subsequently charged in each of the last three years.

    Mike Penning

    The Home Office does not hold the data requested.

    The Home Office collects data from police forces on the number of offences that resulted in a charge but does not collect data on the number of interviews held under caution.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2016 to Question 21728, how many applications for a Tier 2 (General) restricted Certificate of Sponsorship have been rejected on the grounds that the job is in an establishment which provides a take-away service in each of the last five years.

    James Brokenshire

    The information is not readily available and could not be obtained within the proportionate cost limit.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether Syrian refugees and asylum seekers were informed of mental health provisions they could expect in Northern Ireland before they agreed to settle there.

    James Brokenshire

    The Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme prioritises those who cannot be supported effectively in their region of origin. Northern Ireland, in common with other devolved administrations and local authorities, is provided with full case details of all referrals before deciding whether to accept them for resettlement so they can make an assessment of whether they have the infrastructure and support networks needed to ensure the appropriate care and integration of these refugees. Whilst the Government provides funding to ensure these needs can be met, it is up to individual local authorities to decide how this should be achieved.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to increase the number of psychological and psychiatric specialist services available for Syrian refugees and asylum seekers in Northern Ireland.

    James Brokenshire

    In respect of the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme we are working with Northern Ireland as well as with other devolved administrations and local authorities to ensure that they are only asked to welcome Syrian refugees that their local structures are able to support. We are talking to them and other partners to ensure that capacity can be identified and the impact on those taking new cases can be managed in a fair and controlled way.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she expects the inquiry announced by her Department on 20 January 2016 into the housing of asylum seekers in the north-east of England to report its findings.

    James Brokenshire

    Home Office officials are working closely with our housing providers to ensure that asylum seeker accommodation is not easily identifiable. I am not aware of a uniform door colour being the practice in any other region. My officials have also spoken to our housing providers to tell them that such a practice is not acceptable.

    I was first made aware of this issue when The Times contacted the Home Office in mid-January. G4S has investigated correspondence and discussions on the issue of external door colour in the North East and has confirmed that it was raised in 2012 by a Middlesbrough local councillor and was considered by the G4S audit and assurance team, no complaints from asylum seekers relating to this matter were found and a response was issued.

    As I said to the House on 20 January, I instructed officials to look into this issue as a matter of urgency and I expect that the audit will be concluded on the Home Office side very shortly.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when (a) her Department and (b) the contractor G4S became aware of concerns that asylum seekers were being housed in properties with doors that are all uniform or nearly uniform in colour.

    James Brokenshire

    Home Office officials are working closely with our housing providers to ensure that asylum seeker accommodation is not easily identifiable. I am not aware of a uniform door colour being the practice in any other region. My officials have also spoken to our housing providers to tell them that such a practice is not acceptable.

    I was first made aware of this issue when The Times contacted the Home Office in mid-January. G4S has investigated correspondence and discussions on the issue of external door colour in the North East and has confirmed that it was raised in 2012 by a Middlesbrough local councillor and was considered by the G4S audit and assurance team, no complaints from asylum seekers relating to this matter were found and a response was issued.

    As I said to the House on 20 January, I instructed officials to look into this issue as a matter of urgency and I expect that the audit will be concluded on the Home Office side very shortly.

  • Laurence Robertson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Laurence Robertson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what requirement there is for a person to reveal their identity when requested to do so by a police officer.

    Mike Penning

    There are various requirements for a person to provide their name and address to reveal their identity to the police.

    These include:

    – the Road Traffic Act (RTA) 1988, for example, Section 164 gives constables the power to require the production of a driving license; and Section 165 RTA 1988 gives constables the power to obtain names and addresses of drivers and others, and to require production of evidence of insurance or security and test certificates. Full details of the Act can be seen here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/contents

    – the Police Reform Act, which also gives powers to Police Community Support Officers to require the provision of a name and address in certain circumstances. Full details of the Act can be seen here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/30/schedule/4/paragraph/1A –

    – the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 which can require a person to reveal their identity in certain circumstances in connection to suspecting them of a specific offence and arrest. Full details of the Act can be seen here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/60/contents