Every parliamentary written question tabled by Ben Obese-Jecty this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 401–420 of 575 · Home Office
How many people who arrived illegally via small boat (a) before and (b) since 5 July 2024 are living in hotel accommodation.
The Home Office does not publish asylum support statistics broken down by method of arrival.However, data is published quarterly, on both the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, and the number of small boat arrivals, and can be found at: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.
What steps she is taking to improve support for male victims of crime categorised as violence against women and girls.
The definition of VAWG (Violence against Women and Girls) encompasses crimes which disproportionately, but not exclusively, affect women and girls. We recognise that men and boys experience abusive and violent crimes, such as stalking, domestic abuse, and sexual abuse and we are committed to ensuring that male victims and survivors also get the support that they need. The Home Office have invested in services, such as Respect, Galop, SignHealth, and Hourglass, which provide essential support to male victims. We will publish a new VAWG strategy this year to better support all victims of these appalling crimes.
Whether her Department has a strategy to reduce instances of male rape.
The Government’s definition of violence against women and girls (VAWG) encompasses crimes which disproportionately, but not exclusively, affect women and girls. We recognise that men and boys experience these crimes, including rape, and we are committed to ensuring that male victims and survivors get the support that they need. The Government has made several commitments to transform the criminal justice response to sexual offences for all victims. This includes introducing free, independent legal advice advisors for victims of adult rape; and fast-tracking rape cases.In far too many cases, we know victims aren’t getting the justice they deserve. That's why it is so important that police and prosecutors continue to drive forward the transformational change through Operation Soteria, a joint policing and Crown Prosecution Service programme, that has developed new national operating models for the investigation and prosecution of adult rape. We are continuing to fund Operation Soteria to support policing and prosecutors to build the strongest possible, suspect-focused cases. In addition, the Home Office has invested in specialist support services, such as Respect, Galop, SignHealth, and Hourglass, which provide essential support to male victims. We will publish a new VAWG Strategy this year to help ensure all victims of these crimes are better supported.
How many ASPEN cards have been reported (a) lost and (b) stolen since 5 July 2024.
Aspen cards are issued only to the main applicants on claims for Asylum Support and can only be used for chip and pin payments. Asylum seekers are able to report any difficulties, including loss or theft of their Aspen card, by calling Migrant Help, available 24/7 by telephone, webchat or email.The Home Office publishes regular information on asylum expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, but the specific cost data requested is considered commercially sensitive, and its disclosure could undermine the ability of the Home Office to secure maximum value for money in future contract negotiations.
How many asylum claims have been (a) made and (b) processed since 5 July 2024.
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of asylum claims and initial decisions on asylum claims is published in tables Asy_D01 and Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. The latest data relates to 2024.
What the (a) lowest, (b) highest and (c) average administrative cost to the public purse is of processing an asylum claim.
The requested data is not centrally held, but Tab ASY_04 at the link below details 2023/24 Asylum Support costs for the average claimant:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-and-protection-data-q4-2024.
Whether the (a) College of Policing and (b) National Police Chiefs' Council policing framework for violence against women and girls include male victims.
The Government adopts a single consistent definition of violence against women and girls (VAWG) which recognises that women and girls are disproportionately affected by certain crimes but includes all victims, including male victims. The police are operationally independent and have developed their own working definition as part of their policing framework, which recognises the same offences but does not include men and boys.These differences do not impact the way VAWG crimes are investigated or recorded by the police. The different definitions also do not impact on the Government measuring trends, for which we utilise all available data that aligns with the agreed Government definition.
What accommodation is being used to house people who have arrived in the UK illegally in Huntingdon constituency.
Data, published quarterly, on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, can be found within the Asy_D11 tab of our most recent statistics release. The data can also be broken down by local authority. Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.
How many Aspen cards have been issued to asylum seekers since 5 July 2024.
Aspen cards are issued only to the main applicants on claims for Asylum Support and can only be used for chip and pin payments. Asylum seekers are able to report any difficulties, including loss or theft of their Aspen card, by calling Migrant Help, available 24/7 by telephone, webchat or email.The Home Office publishes regular information on asylum expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, but the specific cost data requested is considered commercially sensitive, and its disclosure could undermine the ability of the Home Office to secure maximum value for money in future contract negotiations.
What the cost is of Aspen cards issued since 5 July 2024.
Aspen cards are issued only to the main applicants on claims for Asylum Support and can only be used for chip and pin payments. Asylum seekers are able to report any difficulties, including loss or theft of their Aspen card, by calling Migrant Help, available 24/7 by telephone, webchat or email.The Home Office publishes regular information on asylum expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, but the specific cost data requested is considered commercially sensitive, and its disclosure could undermine the ability of the Home Office to secure maximum value for money in future contract negotiations.
If she will publish the number of (a) police officers, (b) police community support officers, (c) special Constables and (d) redeployed police officers to be recruited by each police force in year one of the neighbourhood policing grant allocation programme.
The Government has committed to restoring neighbourhood policing through the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee. As set out in the 2025-26 police funding settlement, £200 million of funding has been allocated to forces in England and Wales in 2025-26 to kickstart the recruitment of 13,000 additional police officers and PCSOs into neighbourhood policing roles by the end of this Parliament.On 9 April, the Government published force allocations and projections for total neighbourhood policing growth in year one as agreed with each force.This can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/neighbourhood-policing-grant-allocations-and-projections-2025-to-2026
How the neighbourhood policing grant allocation for each police force has been calculated.
As a central part of the Safer Streets Mission, £200 million has been made available in FY 25/26 to support the first steps of delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel.In 2025-26, funding for this grant has been allocated using the Police Funding Formula, and details of the force-level allocations have been confirmed in individual letters directly with forces.
How many licences for the use of animals for scientific purposes were granted (a) in 2023-24 and (b) since 5 July 2024.
The number of licences granted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act for the use of animals in scientific procedures is published in the Regulator’s Annual Report.The Report for 2023 is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-regulation-unit-annual-reports.During 2023, 460 new project licences were granted. The Report for 2024 will be published later this year.
What assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a criminal offence of honour based violence or abuse.
‘Honour’-based abuse (HBA) is an umbrella term, covering specific crimes such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage, but also other forms of abuse that take place in an 'honour' context. While there is not a specific offence of Honour Based Abuse, there are a number of measures in place to help ensure consistency. The college of policing has published policing guidance and a national policing strategy for HBA, FGM and forced marriage and the government has in place statutory multi-agency guidance and free e-learning on forced marriage and FGM to support all professionals. The sentencing guidelines for cases involving domestic abuse also apply to Honour Based Abuse. Tackling violence against women and girls is a top priority for this Government and the new VAWG strategy will include action to tackle HBA. The strategy will be published later this year.
What the maximum (a) population size and (b) geographical area is that each neighbourhood police officer acting as the named point of contact will be required to cover.
The Government is committed to strong neighbourhood policing for everyone in England and Wales, no matter where they live. As the Prime Minister announced on 10 April, by July, every community will have named and contactable officers dedicated to addressing the issues facing their communities as part of the government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.We are working with forces to guarantee neighbourhood areas are of a size that are recognisable to local communities, such as council wards.
Pursuant to the Answer of 14 April 2025 to Question 44365 on Offenders: Deportation, what the cost to the public purse was of returning the 3,594 Foreign National Offenders.
The information requested is not centrally held, and could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
What items of equipment currently issued to police officers in are manufactured in China.
At present, the procurement of equipment for individual police forces is a matter for their chief constables.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the revised neighbourhood policing figures for 29 police forces in England and Wales, published on 19 March 2025 on the neighbourhood policing grant allocations published on 9 April 2025.
Grant funding allocations for neighbourhood policing in 2025/26 were calculated using the Police Funding Formula.As allocations were made based on the Police Funding Formula, the revised neighbourhood policing figures have no bearing on the grant allocations.
How many (a) police officers, (b) Police Community Support Officers, (c) special constables and (d) staff Cambridgeshire Constabulary were budgeted to recruit in each of the last five financial years.
The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the number of police officers joining the police service in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.Information on the number of police officers joining Cambridgeshire Constabulary between the years ending 31 March 2007 to 2024 can be found in the ‘Joiners Open Data Table’ here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/678fab54c88969ba1bc2ad6d/open-data-table-police-workforce-joiners-220125.ods.Information for the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 is due to be published in Summer 2025.The Home Office does not currently collect information on the number of police officers, Police Community Support Officers, special constables or police staff a police force was budgeted to recruit.
What criteria has been used to calculate the number of police officers required to provide a named officer in every town.
The Government is committed to providing strong neighbourhood policing to everyone in England and Wales, no matter where they live.As the Prime Minister announced on 10 April, by July, every community will have named and contactable officers dedicated to addressing the issues facing their communities as part of the government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee. We have worked closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and other sector leaders to develop this Guarantee and ensure that it is deliverable.As of March 2024, there were 17,023 neighbourhood police officers and PCSOs. The Guarantee will provide 13,000 additional neighbourhood police by 2029.