Home Affairs

Thank you for writing about the Downing Street parties. I am responding with a single reply to everyone who wrote, as I have had some hundreds of emails on this topic. Please be assured I have read them all.

I have unsurprisingly received a very large number of emails about the parties (or not-parties) at 10 Downing Street last Christmas, and about the introduction of new restrictions affecting public gatherings and workplaces. 

Many thanks to those who have contacted me about fire safety.

Many thanks to those who have contacted me about Asylum accommodation conditions in particular the Napier and Penally Barracks.

Many thanks to those who have contacted me about the Planning White Paper. 

Many thanks to those who have contacted me about tackling homelessness and rough sleeping. 

I am pleased to tell you 15,000 rough sleepers and those at risk of doing so have been offered safe accommodation since the start of the pandemic. 

I have recently received a number of emails in relation to the increasing number of migrants crossing the Channel. I too have watched with growing alarm as the number willing to attempt this dangerous crossing has skyrocketed in recent weeks.

Many thanks to those who have contacted me about immigration detention as the Coronavirus outbreak continues. 

The Labour MP Yvette Cooper and the Conservative MP Tim Loughton wrote to me asking for support for their amendment which would have continued the current family reunion provisions for unaccompanied child refugees. This is the answer I gave them.
 

Dear Yvette and Tim

I agree, it is vitally important that the most vulnerable members of our society are protected.  

The Home Office also shares this commitment with regard to those seeking asylum and has sought to adjust processes where necessary.