Arrangements are already in place to ensure destitute asylum seekers can buy goods that they require to meet their essential living needs. Asylum seekers who are assessed as destitute under Section 95 are provided with a weekly allowance which is loaded on to a debit card (ASPEN card). ASPEN cards can be used to pay for retail transactions at most shops displaying the Mastercard logo, up to the value of the available balance. They can also be used to check available balances at cash machines, to withdraw cash from cash machines and to get cash back when purchasing items at Mastercard participating shops. ASPEN cards cannot be used to make contactless, telephone or internet payments and the card cannot be used overseas.<\/p>
Failed Asylum Seekers who are assessed as destitute under Section 4 will not be able use their card to withdraw cash from a machine or get cashback from shops.<\/p>
As part of normal service, anyone experiencing issues in relation to their ASPEN payment card can report them to our Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility (AIRE) provider,\u202fMigrant Help,\u202f24 hours a day on the\u202ffreephone\u202fnumber.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4950", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Murray of Blidworth"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Murray of Blidworth"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-09-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-09-18T15:43:09.177Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Home Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Home Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2023-09-04", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Asylum: Finance"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask His Majesty's Government what arrangements they will put in place to ensure Aspen card holding asylum seekers can exchange a payment from their cards for any goods they require.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3691", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Roberts of Llandudno"} ], "uin" : "HL9832"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1247989", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Home Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1247989/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size and composition of the police workforce in England and Wales on a biannual basis in the \u2018Police workforce, England and Wales\u2019 statistical bulletin.<\/p>
From this data collection, the table below shows the total number of police officers in England in 2010, 2015 and the latest year for which figures are available (the year ending 31 March 2020) on a full-time equivalent (FTE) basis and on a headcount basis.<\/p>
Total Police Officers (England)<\/p><\/td><\/tr> | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Year ending 31 March\u2026<\/p><\/td> | FTE<\/strong><\/p><\/td> Headcount<\/strong><\/p><\/td><\/tr> 2010<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 136,365<\/p><\/td> 138,551<\/p><\/td><\/tr> 2015<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 120,437<\/p><\/td> 123,017<\/p><\/td><\/tr> 2020<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 122,112<\/p><\/td> 124,492<\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table> <\/p> The Home Office has also recently started collecting and publishing police officer numbers (on a headcount basis only) on a quarterly basis to report the progress of the Police Uplift Programme. The Programme is delivering on the current Government\u2019s manifesto pledge to recruit 20,000 additional police officers in England and Wales by March 2023. Taken from this new data series, the number of police officers in England from October 2019 to September 2020 on a headcount basis is shown in the table below.<\/p> Police Officers (England)<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Month<\/strong><\/p><\/td> Headcount<\/strong><\/p><\/td><\/tr> Oct-19<\/p><\/td> 120570<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Nov-19<\/p><\/td> 121331<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Dec-19<\/p><\/td> 121607<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Jan-20<\/p><\/td> 122291<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Feb-20<\/p><\/td> 122924<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Mar-20<\/p><\/td> 124492<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Apr-20<\/p><\/td> 124768<\/p><\/td><\/tr> May-20<\/p><\/td> 125109<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Jun-20<\/p><\/td> 125933<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Jul-20<\/p><\/td> 127000<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Aug-20<\/p><\/td> 127257<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Sep-20<\/p><\/td> 127611<\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table> <\/p> These data are collected and published on a headcount basis and are therefore not comparable to the FTE figures published in the long-running \u2018Police workforce, England and Wales\u2019 bulletin. The latest Police Uplift quarterly publication covering the period to September 2020 can be found here:<\/p> https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-officer-uplift-quarterly-update-to-september-2020<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4311", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford"}
}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Williams of Trafford"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-11-16", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "groupedQuestionUIN" : [{"_value" : "HL9833"}
, {"_value" : "HL9834"}
], "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-11-16T17:15:32.987Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Home Office"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Home Office"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2020-11-02", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Police"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"}
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], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 29 October (HL9278), what was the total number of police officers in England in 2010.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/276", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Grocott"}
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, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Grocott"}
], "uin" : "HL9832"}
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