Every parliamentary written question tabled by Lee Anderson this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 121–140 of 150 · Home Office
What steps her Department is taking to help end crossings by small boat across the English Channel.
I refer the Honourable Member to the statement made by the Home Secretary on 10 February 2025, when moving the Border, Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill for its second reading.
What assessment she made of the potential merits of holding a public inquiry into the murder of Sir David Amess.
The Home Office is committed to learning all the lessons from the appalling attack on Sir David Amess. We have therefore published both the Prevent Learning Review on the case in the interests of maximum transparency, and tasked Lord Anderson, the interim Prevent Commissioner, with conducting a rapid review of the case.Lord Anderson will identify whether changes are required arising from the specific handling of that case; examine improvements made to the Prevent programme since the attack and determine whether they have sufficiently strengthened the system; and identify any remaining gaps or shortcomings in the wider programme that require further improvement. This review will be published and swift action will be taken to implement the findings.The Government does not believe that a public inquiry would unearth any information that has not already been considered by the Courts, by the Prevent Learning Review, and by the ongoing Anderson review. However, the Home Secretary has confirmed that we will scrutinise all the previous reviews that have taken place to see if there are any questions that still need to be answered or issues that still need to be addressed, and we will act as necessary if any such gaps are identified as a result of that process.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposals to move the Chinese Embassy to the former Royal Mint building on security.
As set out in a joint letter by the Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary to the Planning Inspector on 14 January, the Home Office has considered the breadth of national security issues in relation to the planning application.It would not be appropriate to comment in further detail on specific matters relating to national security.
With reference to the Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber ruling UI-2024-005295 & Ors, whether the appellants will be entitled to the same access to public funds as people granted permission to stay under the Ukraine Family Scheme.
No Palestinians have been granted permission to stay in the UK under the Ukrainian Family Scheme. The Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases.
Whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of people that may be eligible to settle in the UK whose cases are being assessed by UK courts.
It is not possible to make any such estimate as we cannot predict the outcome of a legal case.The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost. Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data
Whether Palestinians granted permission to stay in the UK under the Ukraine Family Scheme will be eligible for indefinite leave to remain.
No Palestinians have been granted permission to stay in the UK under the Ukrainian Family Scheme. The Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases.
With reference to the Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber ruling UI-2024-005295 & Ors, whether foreign nationals of any nationality with a family member residing in the UK have the right to settle in the UK.
No Palestinians have been granted permission to stay in the UK under the Ukrainian Family Scheme. The Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases.
What support her Department is providing to fire and rescue services, in the context of levels of increases in central funding.
Overall, fire and rescue authorities will receive around £2.87 billion in 2024/25. Decisions on how their resources are best deployed to meet their core functions are a matter for each fire and rescue authority based on its analysis of risk and local circumstances.The Home Office will continue to work closely with stakeholders across the sector to ensure fire and rescue services can protect local communities.
With reference to the Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber ruling UI-2024-005295 & Ors, whether the appellants will be (a) granted indefinite leave to remain and (b) eligible for citizenship.
No Palestinians have been granted permission to stay in the UK under the Ukrainian Family Scheme. The Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases.
What information her Department holds on the average processing time for Disclosure and Barring Service checks conducted through Hampshire Police.
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is operationally independent from the Home Office.Accordingly, the Home Office does not hold the information requested on the average processing time for DBS checks conducted through Hampshire Police.
How many arrests of illegal workers have resulted in deportation to their country of origin in the last six months.
The Home Office publishes data on returns in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’, which can be found here: Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (opens in a new tab). This does not include a separate category for individuals arrested for illegal working, and that could only be collated and verified for the purposes of this answering question at disproportionate cost.
How many cases relating to unsuccessful applications to the Ukraine Family Scheme are (a) awaiting hearing and (b) ongoing in (i) Crown and (ii) magistrates courts.
There is no right of appeal or administrative review against decisions on Ukraine Family Scheme applications.Immigration appeals are not heard in Crown or Magistrates' Courts
What steps her Department is taking to prevent irregular migrants working in the UK from accessing (a) social security benefits and (b) the NHS.
Under UK legislation, access to work is reserved to those who are eligible and have lawful immigration status in the UK. All employers are required to undertake right to work checks before employing someone and can incur civil penalties of up to £60,000.00 per employee if found to be employing migrants without the right to work. Irregular migrants are subject to the No Recourse to Public Funds policy which means they cannot access social security benefits, and nor can they access NHS treatment without charge. The Home Office operates data sharing arrangements with other Government Departments to confirm immigration status information to support eligibility checks.
What steps her Department is taking to improve the effectiveness of counter-terrorism measures.
I refer the Hon. Member to Question UIN 15502 answered on 26 November 2024.
Whether she plans to introduce charges for EU visitors to the UK, in the context of the EU’s planned introduction of the EUR 7 visa waiver charge under its Etias system.
Electronic travel authorisations (ETAs) have been introduced to enhance our ability to screen travellers upstream and stop those who pose a threat from travelling to the UK. ETAs will be extended to eligible European nationals on 5 March 2025, and will be a requirement for this cohort for travel from 2 April 2025. The price of an ETA is currently £10, although the Government has made clear its intention to increase the fee to £16 by amending the relevant legislation.
If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the length of prison sentences for violent shoplifting offences.
In the last year of the previous government, shoplifting soared to a twenty-year high, with more and more offenders using violence and abuse . We will not stand for this.Everybody has a right to feel safe at their place of work and this Government is committed to tackling retail crime.That’s why we will introduce a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores. We will also end the effective immunity, introduced by the previous Government, granted to shop theft of goods of £200 and under. This will remove any perception that offenders will escape punishment
How many people were (a) arrested and (b) charged for shoplifting offences in 2024.
The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of shoplifting offences, and their investigative outcomes (including those resulting in charged/summons), on a quarterly basis. The latest information, to the year ending September 2024, were on published Thursday 30 January 2025 and can be accessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tablesThe Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of arrests made by police in England and Wales, broken down by offence group, on an annual basis. The latest data, covering the period to March 2024, is available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/stop-and-search-arrests-and-mental-health-detentions-march-2024The data is collected by broader offence group, such as ‘Theft offences’.
What estimate her Department has made of the number of people referred to the Prevent programme more than once.
Based on data provided to the Home Office by Counter Terrorism Policing Headquarters (CTPHQ), it is estimated that between 2015 – 2025, circa 12% of all individuals on the Prevent Case Management database had multiple Prevent cases.This data is an extract from a live database and as such is a snapshot in time. The Prevent Case Management database is used to record details of all referrals to Prevent and the subsequent outcomes.
How many people under the age of twenty five were referred to Prevent in each of the last ten years, broken down by sex.
The Home Office publishes annual information on the number of referrals to Prevent, with the latest published figures being found here: Individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent Programme, April 2023 to March 2024.Table 8 within the data tables accompanying this publication provides the number of referrals, number of cases discussed at a Channel Panel, and the number of cases adopted by Channel, broken down by age group and sex.
If she hold discussions with the Rt hon. and hon. Members from (a) Yorkshire and (b) Greater Manchester about the potential merits of a national inquiry into grooming gangs.
Since coming into office last July, the Government has been focused on delivering meaningful change for victims and survivors impacted by these horrendous crimes. We have continued to engage with many stakeholders and stand ready to meet and have met with MPs who have an interest in these important issues.We have been clear that local authorities, who are responsible for delivering local services, are best placed to commission local inquiries. And we stand ready to support as we can. That is why the Home Secretary announced to Parliament on the 6th and 16th January 2025 a range of measures, including stronger national backing for local inquiries.