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1271075

registered interest
date	14/12/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Borders: Digital Technology
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the increased costs of the digital border system to monitor the movement of people and goods into and out of the UK arising from missing the initial deadline of March 2019.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL11391
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/12/2020 answer text <p>Significant external factors over the last few years have inevitably required changes to the original delivery plans for the Digital Services at the Border programme as set out in 2014, for example, the decision to leave the EU, improvements in the Home Office’s approach to using information, and changes to the way that government handles data.</p><p>The programme was reset in 2019 to help ensure the best chance of success, this included actions to strengthen the leadership team and put in place a clear plan of delivery.</p><p>As part of the reset in 2019, the Digital Services at the Border Programme was extended for three years to complete in April 2022. The Home Office estimate the net additional costs that will be incurred by the programme resulting from the extension will be £173 million.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 22/12/2020 11:51:55 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

1246645

registered interest
date	26/10/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Migrants: Detainees
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Chief Inspector of Prisons Report on an unannounced inspection of the detention of migrants arriving in Dover in small boats, published on 23 October; and what steps they intend to take to address the key concerns expressed in that report.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL9505
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/11/2020 answer text <p>The Government have accepted nineteen of the recommendations made in Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons report, in full or part, and rejected only one (access to social media sites).</p><p>The report and recommendations have been considered and the Government’s response has been published https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2020/10/23/fact-sheet-short-term-holding-facilities-and-processing-centres-for-small-boats-crossings/ . We would refer to the measures and improvements listed there.</p><p>We take the welfare of people in our care very seriously and are committed to ensuring our triaging and short-term holding facilities are safe, secure and humane and follow the latest guidance from Public Health England.</p><p>We are adhering to our statutory duties in all aspects, from safeguarding children, to providing the necessary medical requirements to those who have undertaken this dangerous journey.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 09/11/2020 17:28:41 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

1227105

registered interest
date	21/07/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Housing
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking in response to the £3.1 million in service credits charged to Mears Group between September 2019 and January 2020 for poor performance in its contract to provide accommodation to asylum seekers.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL7075
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/08/2020 answer text <p>We expect the highest standards from our providers and accommodation provided must be safe, habitable, fit for purpose and it is required to comply with the Decent Homes Standard in addition to standards outlined in relevant national or local housing legislation.</p><p>The AASC contracts have robust performance management system to which Providers are expected to deliver; where performance falls short of the required standard for each of the individual KPIs the failures are recorded and can result in the award of Points; which can result in a Service Credits being applied.</p><p>Mears performance is monitored closely with dedicated staff in each contract area who are in contact with the Provider on a daily basis. This is supplemented by a formal governance process which includes quarterly Strategic Review Management Boards and monthly Contract Management Groups. Service credits and subsequent improvement plans are discussed and monitored as part of this process.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 04/08/2020 15:57:51 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

1144085

registered interest
date	03/09/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Immigration: Fees and Charges
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how the costs of an application (1) for limited leave to remain, and (2) to extend limited leave to remain, are calculated; by how much the costs of such applications have increased in percentage terms since 2015; and why those costs have increased.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL17573
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2019 answer text <p>The unit costs of immigration and nationality fees are the calculated estimate of the full financial cost for providing each route/service, including direct costs and relevant local and central overheads (e.g. accommodation, HR, Finance and IT), plus depreciation, cost of capital employed, and other wider system costs that are incurred in connection with immigration and nationality activity.</p><p>The approach the Home Office uses to calculate the published unit costs for all UK visa, immigration and citizenship services takes into account the entire forecast cost of the relevant chargeable functions, including all related indirect costs. Weightings are then used, based on operational business planning data, to apportion the total cost across the range of services and products.</p><p>Unit costs may be influenced by changes in the way that applications in certain routes are processed from year to year, for example where additional checks are introduced or required, or by changes elsewhere within the overall system which impact on the weighting calculations and therefore the amount apportioned to any individual service.</p><p>With regard to percentage increases, the Home Office publishes a complete list of fees and unit costs for all application types. This can be viewed via the following link:</p><p>www.gov.uk/government/publications/visa-fees-transparency-data</p><p>Additionally, the link below sets out all the fees that have been in operation since 2015.</p><p>www.gov.uk/government/publications/visa-regulations-revised-table<br> <br>When setting fees, the Home Office takes into account the cost of processing the application, the wider cost of running Border, Immigration and Citizenship (BIC) system and the benefits the Home Office believes are likely to accrue from a successful application.</p><p>Application fees have increased in recent years as the Home Office aims to reduce the overall level of funding that comes from general taxation.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 08/10/2019 11:12:28 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

1134296

registered interest
date	24/06/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Housing
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government why they have awarded contracts to Serco for the provision of housing to asylum seekers; and what measures they intend to put in place to ensure that the quality of the service delivered under those contracts is up to a good standard.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL16581
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2019 answer text <p>The Home Office awarded the new Asylum Accommodation and Support Services Contracts (AASC) to providers following an open, fair and extensive procurement exercise.</p><p>There is a rigorous contract compliance regime in place to ensure that the required performance standards expected of all providers, as defined in the contracts, are met. Instances of non-conformance of the performance indica-tors may lead to a financial deduction from monthly invoices</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 08/07/2019 14:08:36 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

1123282

registered interest
date	25/04/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Visas: Commonwealth
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how visa applications fees for Commonwealth veterans are calculated; and why visa application fees have risen by 1,441 per cent since 2003.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL15338
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/05/2019 answer text <p>The fees for applications from Commonwealth citizens who have served in the armed forces are the same as applications from Commonwealth applicants who have not.</p><p>When setting fees, the Home Office takes into account the cost of processing the application, the wider cost of running Border, Immigration and Citizenship (BIC) system and the benefits the Home Office believes are likely to accrue from a successful application</p><p>Application fees have increased in recent years as the Home Office aims to reduce the overall level of funding that comes from general taxation.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 10/05/2019 12:26:10 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

1088551

registered interest
date	13/03/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Fire and Rescue Services: Training
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that firefighters are adequately trained to tackle fires in the cladding of buildings.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL14511
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/03/2019 answer text <p>Fire and rescue authorities are responsible for ensuring that firefighters are adequately trained and equipped.</p><p>The government has established a new, independently chaired Fire Standards Board to oversee the development of professional standards for fire and rescue services in England, which we would expect to include standards of training.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 27/03/2019 16:43:37 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

1064785

registered interest
date	21/02/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Housing
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many contracts they hold with G4S to provide government-supported accommodation for asylum seekers and refugees.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL13949
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2019 answer text <p>G4S are currently contracted to provide asylum seeker accommodation and transport to service users accommodated in the North East, Yorkshire &amp; Humberside and the Midlands. This contract will end in September 2019.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 07/03/2019 17:03:52 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

1064786

registered interest
date	21/02/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Housing
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether there is overcrowding in government-supported accommodation for asylum seekers and refugees.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL13950
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2019 answer text <p>To ensure overcrowding does not happen accommodation providers must comply with national and local housing regulations including those regarding room sharing. The accommodation contracts set out who may share a room, which includes allowing room sharing for couples, unrelated adults of the same sex and related children depending on their genders and ages.</p><p>Providers are contractually required to take account of any particular circumstances and vulnerability of those that they accommodate and an assessment is made on a case-by-case basis depending on the specific needs of the individual. All of our properties are inspected by the providers on a monthly basis, in addition to regular inspections carried out by Home Office officials. Where there are licensing requirements, local authorities also conduct inspections. <br>The statement of requirements showing the requirements for accommodation sizes and room sharing can be found at https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive/contract/503107/</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 07/03/2019 17:27:01 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

1064583

registered interest
date	20/02/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Housing
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many private companies run government-supported accommodation for asylum seekers.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL13902
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/03/2019 answer text <p>UKVI currently discharges their statutory duty to provide destitute asylum seeker accommodation and transport via a suite of COMPASS contracts with three providers: G4S in the North East, Yorkshire &amp; Humberside and the Midlands; Serco in the North West, Scotland and Northern Ireland and Clearsprings Ready Homes in London, the South and Wales.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 06/03/2019 17:09:06 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham