House of Commons Home Affairs Committee Formal Minutes of the Committee Session 2019–21 The Home Affairs Committee The Home Affairs Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Home Office and its associated public bodies. Current membership Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP (Chair, Labour, Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford) Rt Hon Ms Diane Abbott MP (Labour, Hackney North and Stoke Newington) Dehenna Davison MP (Conservative, Bishop Auckland) Ruth Edwards MP (Conservative, Rushcliffe) Laura Farris MP (Conservative, Newbury) Simon Fell MP (Conservative, Barrow and Furness) Andrew Gwynne MP (Labour, Denton and Reddish) Adam Holloway MP (Conservative, Gravesham) Dame Diana Johnson MP (Labour, Kingston upon Hull North) Tim Loughton MP (Conservative, East Worthing and Shoreham) Stuart C McDonald MP (Scottish National Party, Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) The following Members were members of the Committee during the Session Janet Daby MP (Labour, Lewisham East) Stephen Doughty (Labour, Cardiff South and Penarth) Holly Lynch (Labour, Halifax) Powers The Committee is one of the departmental select committees, the powers of which are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 152. These are available on the Internet via www.parliament.uk. Publication The Reports and evidence of the Committee are published by Order of the House. All publications of the Committee (including press notices) are on the Internet at https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/83/home-affairs-committee. Committee staff The current staff of the Committee are Simon Armitage (Committee Specialist), Melissa Bailey (Committee Assistant), Christopher Battersby (Committee Specialist), Chloe Cockett (Senior Specialist), Elizabeth Hunt, (Clerk), Penny McLean (Committee Specialist), George Perry (Select Committee Media Officer), Paul Simpkin (Senior Committee Assistant), and Dominic Stockbridge (Assistant Clerk). Contacts All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk of the Home Affairs Committee, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA. The telephone number for general enquiries is 020 7219 6856; the Committee’s email address is [email protected]. Home Affairs Committee FORMAL MINUTES Tuesday 3 March 2020 Rt Hon Yvette Cooper, in the Chair Janet Daby Simon Fell Dehenna Davison Tim Loughton Stephen Doughty Holly Lynch Ruth Edwards Stuart C McDonald Laura Farris 1. Declaration of interests Members declared their interests, in accordance with the Resolution of the House of 13 July 1992 (see Appendix). 2. Committee working practices Ordered, That the Committee examine witnesses in public unless it otherwise orders. Ordered, That witnesses who submit written evidence to the Committee are authorized to publish it on their own account in accordance with Standing Order No. 135, subject always to the discretion of the Chair or where the Committee orders otherwise. Resolved, That the Committee shall not consider individual cases. Ordered, That, subject to the discretion of the Chair, written evidence received between scheduled committee meetings, over the period to 16 September 2020, where the material is directly related to a current inquiry or is otherwise judged to be of an urgent nature, shall be reported to the House for publication. Resolved, That the Chair have discretion to: (a) agree the circulated agenda for Committee meetings (subject to the right of any Committee member to raise issues for the Committee to consider); (b) engage in correspondence on Committee matters which is not sufficiently significant to require approval by the Committee or is of a routine nature; (c) arrange informal meetings in Westminster on matters relating to the Committee’s remit (for example, with visiting parliamentarians); (d) authorise the issue of press notices about forthcoming evidence sessions, new inquiries and reports; (e) propose reports to the Liaison Committee for debate in Westminster Hall; (f) take decisions which are consequential on matters already decided by the Committee or which are urgent. 3. Evidence reported for publication Ordered, That the following written evidence be reported to the House for publication: Correspondence from the Home Secretary, dated 5 February, relating to the launch of a public consultation on reforms to pre-charge bail; Correspondence from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office, dated 6 February, relating to the Windrush Compensation Scheme; Correspondence from Sir Philip Rutnam, dated 10 February, relating to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse; Correspondence from the Clerk of the Parliaments, dated 19 February, relating to access in the House of Lords; Correspondence from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office, dated 20 February, relating to Gatwick Immigration Removal Centres; Correspondence from the Clerk of the House, dated 2 March, relating to access in the House of Commons; Correspondence to the Home Secretary, dated 3 March, relating to the 2020 Spending Review; Correspondence to the Home Secretary, dated 3 March, relating to the EU Settlement Scheme. 4. Home Office Supplementary Estimate 2019–20 Ordered, That the memorandum from the Home Office on its Supplementary Estimate for 2019–20 be reported to the House for publication. 5. National Crime Agency Supplementary Estimate 2019–20 Ordered, That the memorandum from the National Crime Agency on its Supplementary Estimate for 2019–20 be reported to the House for publication. 6. Future programme Resolved, That the Committee take oral evidence from the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners on 11 March. Resolved, That the Committee inquire into the work of the Home Secretary. Resolved, That the Committee inquire into the work of the Home Office. Resolved, That the Committee take oral evidence from the Migration Advisory Committee on the Government’s proposals for the UK’s new immigration system. [Adjourned till 11 March at 9.45am Evidence reported to the House for publication on 9 March (Order of the Committee, 3 March): Letter from the Chair to the Home Secretary, dated 6 March, relating to future oral evidence Letter from the Chair to the Permanent Secretary, Home Office, dated 6 March, relating to future oral evidence Wednesday 11 March 2020 Rt Hon Yvette Cooper, in the Chair Janet Daby Simon Fell Dehenna Davison Tim Loughton Stephen Doughty Holly Lynch Laura Farris Stuart C McDonald 1. Publication of written evidence The Chair reported on her use of the powers delegated to her (Order, 3 March 2020). 2. Home Office preparedness for COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Resolved, That the Committee inquire into Home Office preparedness for COVID-19 (coronavirus). 3. Police conduct and complaints The Committee considered this matter. 4. Serious Youth Violence Draft Special Report (Serious Youth Violence: Government response to the Committee’s Sixteenth Report of Session 2017–19), proposed by the Chair, brought up and read the first and second time, and agreed to. The Government’s response to the Sixteenth Report from the Committee of Session 2017– 19 in the last Parliament was appended to the Report. Resolved, That the Report be the First Special Report of the Committee to the House. Ordered, That the Chair make the Report to the House. 5. Police ethnic diversity and the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners Hardyal Dhindsa, Police and Crime Commissioner for Derbyshire and Deputy Lead for Equality, Diversity and Human Rights, Julia Mulligan, Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire and Lead of the Portfolio Group on Transparency and Integrity, and David Munro, Police and Crime Commissioner, Surrey, Lead on Equality, Diversity and Human Rights, Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, gave oral evidence. [Adjourned till 18 March at 2.00pm Wednesday 18 March 2020 Rt Hon Yvette Cooper, in the Chair Stephen Doughty Tim Loughton Laura Farris Holly Lynch Simon Fell Stuart C McDonald Adam Holloway 1. Declaration of interests Adam Holloway declared his interests, in accordance with the Resolution of the House of 13 July 1992 (see Appendix). 2. Home Office preparedness for COVID-19 (coronavirus) Lucy Moreton, Professional Officer, Immigration Services Union, gave oral evidence. DCC Paul Netherton, Civil Contingencies Lead, National Police Chiefs’ Council, and ACC Owen Weatherill, Strategic Lead, National Police Coordination Centre, gave oral evidence. Emma Moore, Chief Operating Officer, and Angela Perfect, COVID-19 Gold Command, Border Force, gave oral evidence. [Adjourned till Monday, 6 April at 2.00pm. Evidence reported to the House for publication on 1 April (Order of the Committee, 3 March 2020): Letter from the Chair to the Home Secretary, dated 27 March, relating to an invitation to give oral evidence to the Committee Evidence reported to the House for publication on 3 April (Order of the Committee, 3 March 2020): Letter from the Chair to the Home Secretary, dated 3 April, relating to COVID-19 checks at the UK Border Letter from the Chair and the Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee to the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, dated 3 April, relating to No Recourse to Public Funds conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic Monday, 6 April 2020 Virtual meeting Members present: Rt Hon Yvette Cooper, in the Chair Janet Daby Simon Fell Dehenna Davison Adam Holloway Stephen Doughty Tim Loughton Ruth Edwards Holly Lynch Laura Farris The Committee met remotely (Order of the House of 24 March 2020). 1.