Topical Questions

Answer from Suella Braverman (Home Secretary)

I am going to make a short topical statement. It is very important that our passport system runs as efficiently as possible. In 2022, His Majesty's Passport Office served more customers than ever before. Staff numbers have increased by over 1,200 since April 2021 and many staff have been trained to deal with a broader range of applications. Despite high demand so far this year, approximately 99% of all UK applications were completed within 10 weeks and approximately 97% within three weeks last week.

Answer from Suella Braverman (Home Secretary)

West Yorkshire police have recruited 837 additional police officers to December, against their total allocation of 852. This is an unprecedented recruitment drive giving forces the opportunity to recruit the brightest and the best into policing.

Answer from Suella Braverman (Home Secretary)

We are going through an overhaul of our processes when it comes to disciplinary procedures applying to those officers who are under investigation. That is why I have announced a review and am looking into measures over the disciplinary process, so that we make it easier for chief constables to exclude those officers who have fallen short.

Answer from Suella Braverman (Home Secretary)

I think the right hon. Lady needs to keep up, because we have the College of Policing already strengthening the statutory code of practice for police vetting; we have tasked the Angiolini inquiry to look at the specifics of the Carrick case; and I have launched a review into the disciplinary process.

Answer from Chris Philp (Minister of State for Policing and the Fire Service)

My hon. Friend raises an extremely important point. It is something we work on regularly via the police covenant oversight board, which I chair. One of the steps we have already taken is to appoint a chief medical officer for the police, to deal with exactly the issues that he rightly raises.

Answer from Chris Philp (Minister of State for Policing and the Fire Service)

Yes, there is an intention to consult on the police funding formula in the near future. That is very important, but I ask the hon. Lady to join me in welcoming the fact that Bedfordshire now has about 150 more officers than it did in 2010.

Answer from Suella Braverman

Tackling antisocial behaviour is a priority. We have introduced an aggravating factor in legislation for assaults on retail staff and established a retail crime group within Government chaired by the Policing Minister to bring together relevant agencies.

Answer from Suella Braverman

The hon. Gentleman is living in another planet if he thinks people who come here on small boats, breaking laws and putting themselves at risk, are welcome. There will be a robust response from our laws.

Answer from Thomas Tugendhat

My right hon. Friend, fraud has been a blight on too many communities. The fraud strategy that we have been working on for months will be coming out very soon.

Answer from Suella Braverman

The hon. Gentleman is talking about industrial action by Border Force officers in the run-up to the new year. I was grateful for the preparation and planning by management, and for military support at the border despite industrial action.

Answer from Sarah Dines

My hon. Friend represents an interesting county, and I know she works hard on this issue. There are three projects of the kind mentioned in Derbyshire with more than £1.5 million spent.

Answer from Chris Philp

The hon. Lady raises a reasonable point about psilocybin rescheduling. We are getting advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and will act as soon as possible.

Answer from Robert Jenrick

We introduced the health and social care visa making it easier for the NHS to recruit internationally. There is an enhanced service standard of 15 working days for extensions to those visas, which is currently being met.

Answer from Robert Jenrick

I would be happy to. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will support our legislation in due course, which will tackle the root cause of the issue.

Answer from Chris Philp

Yes, I entirely agree. We are looking to consult in the very near future to make sure that the law prohibits dangerous weapons where necessary.

Answer from Suella Braverman

Violent crime is devastating, which is why we need to get knives and other offensive weapons off our streets. I am pleased with the targeted interventions made through violence reduction units, hotspot policing and, of course, increased police resources, which are all working towards a reduction in knife crime and violent crime.

Answer from Suella Braverman

My hon. Friend puts it incredibly well. The tragedy is that Labour Members have opposed every measure that we have proposed. They voted against our Bill, which would have provided tougher penalties for people smugglers. They voted against our measures to improve the situation. We delivered the ground-breaking partnership with Rwanda and they would scrap it. Labour's plan is to invest more money in the National Crime Agency. Let me tell Members that we are already doing that. The reality is that Labour has no plan. It has no idea, and, frankly, it is not on the side of the British people, because all it wants is open borders.

Answer from Robert Jenrick

I would be happy to look into the matter for the right hon. Lady. I would say, however, that the visa service is now working within its service standards in all respects.

Answer from Robert Jenrick

The published figures to September last year show that 3,400 Albanians claimed to be modern slaves. Of course, some within this number will prove to be so, but many will not, which is why it is right that we tackle abuse of the system. We have already taken substantial action by increasing the reasonable grounds threshold and reducing the minimum recovery period. If we need to take further action, we will.

Answer from Robert Jenrick

We are considering this issue. The policy was put in place some time ago, for good reason: so that those local authorities that were bearing a disproportionate number of the individuals in hotels and temporary accommodation did not take a corresponding number of people were they to be granted asylum. We are looking into that at the moment.

Answer from Robert Jenrick

I would be happy to look into any specific cases, but overall, the skilled worker system is operating well. We have more than 48,000 registered sponsors, mostly small and medium-sized businesses. In the year to September last year, almost a quarter of a million work-related visas were granted, and the standard processing time is three weeks for those applications.

Answer from Suella Braverman

We very much welcome the best and the brightest students from all over the world to our world-leading universities. Our points-based system was designed to enable graduates and undergraduates to come and study at UK universities. We are always looking at our visa routes to make sure the right balance is struck between the resources we can provide for people coming here and the numbers coming here. That is the same across the board, whichever visa route we look at.

Answer from Chris Philp

Yes, we agree entirely. That is why my hon. Friend's county and his town have had safer streets funding, and why they are getting extra police officers. The Government completely agree that zero tolerance to ASB is exactly what we need.

Answer from Thomas Tugendhat

Going from freezing to seizing is a difficult procedure under our laws, due to rights people have. We have discussed this matter with partners in common law jurisdictions and will continue conversations on the subject.

Answer from Robert Jenrick

The right hon. Friend makes an important point. Over 190 people have been arrested since the implementation of the Nationality and Borders Act, which is having a real impact on illegal immigration control.

Answer from Robert Jenrick

We work with the Migration Advisory Committee and DEFRA to review the skilled worker list annually. The seasonal agricultural worker scheme has been extended this year, increasing permitted numbers.

Answer from Suella Braverman

My right hon. Friend makes his point well; the Labour party opposes measures to control our borders and fix cross-channel issues.

Answer from Robert Jenrick

We review the seasonal agricultural worker scheme annually with DEFRA, extending it for this year and increasing permitted numbers. We balance this against training British workers and investing in farming to reduce reliance on foreign labour.

Answer from Suella Braverman

I join my hon. Friend in praising Chief Constable Lee Freeman and Humberside Police Force's pioneering work, such as its 'right care, right person' programme which is being rolled out across the country to benefit all forces.

Answer from Robert Jenrick

The Great Northern hotel is returned to use by the local community and economy. I will write back setting out our plans, though not all details can be shared at this stage.