Tag: Thangam Debbonaire

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training Job Centre Plus staff are required to undertake on the support that is available to people who have been granted refugee status.

Damian Hinds

Jobcentre Plus staff are trained to consider a person’s circumstances and to tailor support according to individual need. All staff complete customer awareness training that covers a wide range of customer circumstances that includes asylum seekers and refugees.

Jobcentre Plus staff supplement national instructions with information on services and support available in their local area. This is accessed via the District Provision Tool which contains a wealth of information on the support available for vulnerable claimants including refugees. Staff are encouraged to access this regularly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment the Government has made of the effect of the ban on khat.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Khat was controlled as a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 in 2014.

The 2015/16 Crime Survey England and Wales found that 0.06% of adults aged 16 to 59 in the general population had used khat in the last year, equivalent to around 20,000 people. This is similar to 2014/15 (0.05%) but a statistically significant fall compared with 0.2% in the previous two survey years when khat was measured (2010/11 and 2011/12).

We will continue to monitor the situation in relation to khat as appropriate, including through recommendations from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. Our approach to drugs remains clear: we must prevent drug use in our communities and help dependent individuals to recover, while ensuring our drugs laws are enforced.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-10-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to allocate the homelessness prevention grant in proportion to the level of need in each local authority.

Mr Marcus Jones

We have made available over £500 million to local authorities and the voluntary sector to tackle homelessness and since 2010 this has helped local authorities to prevent 935,800 households from becoming homeless.

Since 2010, local councils have had more flexibility over how they spend the money they receive from central government.

The allocation of Homeless Prevention Grant has developed over many years to take account of different kinds of pressures, including rough sleeping and statutory homelessness. We supported the establishment of the National Practitioner Support Service’s ‘Gold Standard’ programme to help improve the effectiveness of local authority homelessness prevention services.

Decisions on funding beyond 2015/2016 will be subject to the forthcoming spending review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Leader of the House, what plans he has to reform timetabling of private members’ bills; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Grayling

The Government has no plans to change the timetabling of private members’ bills.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that refugees arriving in other EU member-states who have family in the UK are identified and supported in being reunited with their relatives.

James Brokenshire

All migrants arriving in other EU Member States who wish to seek asylum should do so in those States and provide information to the asylum authorities about any family members in the UK or other Member States so that the family unity provisions in the Dublin Regulation can be applied.

We are providing further resources to the European Asylum Support Office, including help in border “hotspots” in Greece and Italy, to identify and register asylum applicants, including children at risk on first arrival in the EU.

We will consider any request made to us by other Member States to take responsibility for asylum applicants because they have close family who are legally in the UK in accordance with the terms of the Dublin Regulation.

If not claiming asylum, individuals outside the UK are entitled to apply under the Immigration Rules to join relatives in the UK by making the appropriate visa application.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if his Department plans to promote clearer pathways into the arts and cultural sectors to develop a more diverse leadership and workforce in those sectors.

Mr Edward Vaizey

In the recently published Culture White Paper we made it clear that more needs to be done to encourage diversity in leadership positions. We will promote clearer pathways into the sectors, and we will work with Arts Council England to understand the barriers that prevent people from lower income households and under-represented groups from becoming professionals in the arts.

In December 2015, the Arts Council announced four new strategic funds for diversity, totalling £8.6 million. This included a new £2.6 million Change Makers fund to build long-term relationships between National Portfolio Organisations and aspiring arts leaders from the BME and deaf and disabled communities. Arts Council England has also made a significant change in its approach to diversity by launching The Creative Case for Diversity, which asks the organisations it funds to make themselves and their work more reflective of the communities they serve.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, when she plans to publish a response to the First Report from the Women and Equalities Committee, Session 2015-16, HC 390, on Transgender equality; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Dinenage

The Government has welcomed the report from the Women and Equalities Select Committee into transgender equality.

The report provides a substantial number of recommendations covering almost a dozen public bodies, including several recommendations which call for significant changes to legislation and reforms to the NHS. Government is carefully considering these recommendations.

We continually engage with stakeholders from women’s and transgender communities and we would consider their views before making any changes to legislation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) attract, recruit and retain high-quality police officers and (b) offer such officers career development.

Mike Penning

The Government?s reforms to policing are designed to create a more capable, flexible and professional workforce. Central to these reforms was the establishment of the College of Policing as the professional body for policing, charged with setting standards and further professionalising the police.

Recruitment to the police is managed within a national application, assessment and selection framework maintained by the College. Within this remit the College is delivering a number of major pieces of work including a review of initial police recruitment, proposals for a new police educational qualification framework and implementing the recommendations of its 2014 Leadership Review.

These reforms, along with innovative schemes such as Direct Entry and Police Now, focus on recognising and developing the skills of existing officers, as well as ensuring that policing can continue to attract the brightest and best new recruits.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-07-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to improve access to the private rented sector for single people who are homeless.

Gavin Barwell

One person without a home is one too many and we are committed to do all we can to prevent homelessness.

Increasing access to the private rented sector is one of the many ways we are trying to achieve this. We have already made a significant investment of nearly £14 million for Crisis to develop a programme to help single homeless people access private rented sector accommodation. This has helped over 10,000 people, with over 90% maintaining tenancies for at least 6 months.

In Budget 2016, we also announced a £10 million fund to support and scale-up initiatives to prevent and reduce rough sleeping and a £10 million Social Impact Bond to support the most entrenched rough sleepers off the streets.

In addition, we are working to increase supply, and therefore affordability, in the private rented sector by accelerating the development of a new market for private renters, including our £1 billion build to rent fund and the £3.5 billion private rented sector debt guarantee scheme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-09-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7 September 2016 to Question 43711, if she will take steps to increase the number of transfers to the UK of refugees in camps in Greece with family connections in the UK.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government is fully committed to the efficient and timely operation of the Dublin Regulation and we are working closely with EU partners, including the Greek authorities, to identify, assess and transfer those with family connections to the UK under the Dublin family reunion process.

We have seconded an expert to Greece to coordinate efforts on transferring unaccompanied children to the UK. We are following due process to ensure that any transfer is in their best interests and is lawful under EU legislation.

More broadly, the UK has offered 75 expert personnel to help with the processing and administration of migrants in reception centres, act as interpreters, provide medical support and bolster our existing team assisting the Commission to ensure effective and efficient coordination.