Tag: Sarah Champion

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the rate of appeal was against age-assessments for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in each month since March 2010; and what proportion of such appeals were successful.

James Brokenshire

All unaccompanied asylum seeking children are referred to the Refugee Council’s panel of advisers.

Age-assessments of unaccompanied asylum seeking children are conducted by local authorities. The guidance to local authority practitioners states that most assessments should be completed within 28 days, however the timescale for assessment should be responsive to the needs of the child or young person. The Home Office does not collect statistics on how many and what proportion are carried out within this timescale.

Statistics on the number of age disputes raised and resolved for asylum applicants for each quarter from January 2010 to September 2015 are available on GOV.UK at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/476915/asylum3-q3-2015-tabs.ods

The Home Office does not keep a record of the number of appeals against age assessments conducted by local authorities.

Home Office policy is not to return unaccompanied asylum seeking children whose claim has been refused unless there are safe and adequate reception arrangements in place. Statistics on the number of children removed from the UK in 2014 are available on Gov.UK at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/476919/removals1-q3-2015-tabs.ods

However, these statistics include all nationalities and non-asylum cases.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 2.112 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, how much of the planned £40 million spending for services for victims of domestic abuse he plans will be spent in each of the next four years; and in each such year what programmes or policies that spending is planned to support.

Mr Marcus Jones

Details of how the £40 million fund will be used to support victims of domestic abuse will be announced shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many notifications her Department has received under section 52 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 relating to slavery or human trafficking of (a) children and (b) adults.

Sarah Newton

We published guidance on the Modern Slavery Act on GOV.UK and a circular was sent to all bodies who are subject to the duty. We will publish data on notifications received and carry out further awareness-raising activity later this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any unaccompanied asylum-seeking children from Albania have been returned to that country in the last year.

James Brokenshire

All unaccompanied asylum seeking children are referred to the Refugee Council’s panel of advisers.

Age-assessments of unaccompanied asylum seeking children are conducted by local authorities. The guidance to local authority practitioners states that most assessments should be completed within 28 days, however the timescale for assessment should be responsive to the needs of the child or young person. The Home Office does not collect statistics on how many and what proportion are carried out within this timescale.

Statistics on the number of age disputes raised and resolved for asylum applicants for each quarter from January 2010 to September 2015 are available on GOV.UK at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/476915/asylum3-q3-2015-tabs.ods

The Home Office does not keep a record of the number of appeals against age assessments conducted by local authorities.

Home Office policy is not to return unaccompanied asylum seeking children whose claim has been refused unless there are safe and adequate reception arrangements in place. Statistics on the number of children removed from the UK in 2014 are available on Gov.UK at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/476919/removals1-q3-2015-tabs.ods

However, these statistics include all nationalities and non-asylum cases.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much the Government has spent on specialist BAME domestic violence services in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16 to date.

Karen Bradley

The Government is committed to tackling domestic violence in all its forms and is determined to ensure all victims, including those from black and minority ethnic communities, have access to appropriate support.

The previous Government provided £40 million of dedicated funding for domestic and sexual violence services between 2011 and 2015 equating to £10 million per year. This funding was extended until April 2016, supplemented by an additional £10 million for refuges, and a £3.5 million fund to boost the provision of domestic violence services including refuges. This funding supported all victims of domestic abuse, including victims from black and minority ethnic communities.

A new Violence Against Women and Girls strategy published on 8 March 2016 sets out how the Government will support local authorities in implementing tailored services for victims who experience different forms of discrimination or additional barriers to accessing support. This includes women from black and minority ethnic communities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to bring forward proposals for secondary legislation on identifying and supporting victims under section 50 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Mike Penning

We are committed to ensuring we have an effective system for identifying and supporting victims. We reviewed and are piloting changes to the National Referral Mechanism. We will consider the introduction of regulations once the proposed changes to the National Referral Mechanism have been tested.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) sexual harm prevention orders and (b) sexual risk orders have been made by courts in England; and how many people subject to each such order were under the age of 18.

Karen Bradley

The Home Office does not collate central figures on the number of Sexual Harm Prevention Orders and Sexual Risk Orders issued in England. Figures collated by the police for management purposes, and provided to the Home Office, on the overall number of orders show that in the period between 8 March and 29 September, 2,425 full and 40 interim Sexual Harm Prevention Orders and 32 full and 13 interim Sexual Risk Orders were issued in England and Wales. This data is not broken down by age.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-03-10.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he expects the European Commission to publish the VAT Action Plan; and what plans he has to respond to that plan.

Mr David Gauke

The Action Plan is due to be published by the Commission shortly. It will be subject to the normal parliamentary scrutiny process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when she plans to publish the sentencing guidelines for Part 1 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Mr Sam Gyimah

Sentencing Guidelines are issued by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales, a body independent of Government.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many child abduction warning notices were served by police forces in England in the last 12 months; and how many such notices related to children aged 16 and 17.

Mike Penning

Child Abduction Warning Notices are currently used by the police as a deterrent against those thought to be grooming children, where the child is under the age of 16 if living at home, or under the age of 18 if living in the care of a local authority. These notices are a useful tool for the police and complement the strong new powers to protect the vulnerable from sexual predators that we introduced in the Serious Crime Act 2015. For example, breach of an Abduction Notice can become grounds for the issuing of a Sexual Risk Order.

There is no statutory or other legislative provision dealing specifically with the issue of Child Abduction Warning Notices; the Notices are part of an administrative process. Breach of a Notice is not a criminal offence and as such the police do not regularly record the number of Child Abduction Warning Notices issued.