We remain concerned about Lahpi Gam's ongoing detention and by reports of his poor physical health. In 2013, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention opined that his imprisonment constituted arbitrary detention and raised a number of concerns about the fairness of his trial. We regularly raise our concerns regarding political prisoners with the Burmese authorities.

The “Improving Lives: The Work, Health and Disability Green Paper” was published on 31 October 2016 and announces the Department’s new Personal Support Package.

In his 2015 Summer Budget, the Chancellor announced the removal of the Work Related Activity Component (WRAC) and the Limited Capability for Work (LCW) element from April 2017.

Announced alongside this was a support package of £330m over four years to support this group from April 17. In addition, an extra £15m will be made available through the Flexible Support Fund in both 2017/18 and 2018/19 to offer more targeted support at a local level.

‘Improving Lives, The Work, Health and Disability Green Paper’ provides further details of the overarching Personal Support Package for people with health conditions and disabilities, with a range of new interventions and initiatives designed to provide support that is tailored to the individual needs of claimants.

I can give my hon. Friend such an assurance. People are open to apply to the financial channels he mentions if they need further support. We have been doing some work in the Department on social tariffs and budgeting, which will be rolled out across our Jobcentre Plus network, and all the elements of the support offer for that group are already in place.

The period October to December saw 1,161 asylum claims registered by unaccompanied asylum seeking children. It is not currently possible to provide a breakdown however I have committed to publishing more detailed figures in future data releases.

The government continues to monitor sentencing for bladed and offensive weapon offences. On 9 March the latest knife possession sentencing quarterly statistics bulletin was published and is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/knife-possession-sentencing-quarterly-brief-october-to-december-2016.

After the introduction of our two strikes legislation, people caught carrying a knife a second time are now more likely than ever before to go to prison.

Since commencement of Section 28 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, London police forces secured:

(a) 364 sentencing occasions resulting in a custodial sentence where the offender had more than one previous knife possession offence. Of these, 298 resulted in immediate custody and 66 in a suspended sentence.

(b) 535 sentencing occasions resulting in a custodial sentence where the offender was previously convicted or cautioned for a violence against the person offence (other than knife possession). Of these, 375 resulted in immediate custody and 160 in a suspended sentence. The figures reflect whether the offender had a previous conviction or caution for a violence against the person offence (other than knife possession), before they committed their subsequent knife possession offence. The conviction or caution for the violence against the person offence may have occurred at the same time as, or on a separate occasion to, the previous knife possession offence.

The figures provided include both adult and juvenile offenders.

Following publication of the Government’s response to Stephen Shaw’s Report into the welfare in detention of vulnerable persons on 14 January 2016, work continues on designing and implementing a more effective case management process to replace the existing method of reviewing detention. Case Progression Plans are intended to act as the single caseworking record for all individuals entering immigration detention. These Plans will replace detention reviews and other documentation currently used by the Detention Gatekeeper when assessing suitability for detention, and will ensure that caseworkers focus on progression towards an individuals’ return.

Wider rollout of Case Progression Plans is planned for later this year, subject to the findings from the evaluation of the pilot phase.

The Department’s strategy for the future of the immigration detention estate will be communicated in due course.

The Department’s strategy for the future of the immigration detention estate will be communicated in due course.

My hon. Friend is, as ever, spot on with regards to the importance of education. We are bringing forward plans on secure schools, and we are going to put health and education at the centre of that. I strongly believe that when people leave the youth justice system, they should be fit in body, fit in mind and fit to play a positive part in society.

On 24 February, we announced changes to improve governance of the youth justice system. We are creating a new youth custody service headed by a dedicated, experienced director who will lead on operational delivery, and we have appointed Charlie Taylor as the new chair of the Youth Justice Board.

We seek to minimise the time for which people are kept in detention, and that is done for the purposes of removal. We have, of course, introduced a new adults at risk policy, which seeks to minimise the use of detention for those considered vulnerable.

I am extremely well aware of the points my hon. Friend makes, not least, as I say, because of the role I last held in government. We look carefully at all these things, particularly the issue of white cider.

I am pleased that my hon. Friend talks again about a cross-party approach to this very important issue. He highlights the need to look at the causes of homelessness. I think that when any Member of the House comes across anyone who is homeless, they will see that their needs are often complex—it can be to do with addiction, for example, or mental health issues. We would all do well to take those issues more seriously.

In accordance with the Immigration Act 2016 the Government conducted a comprehensive consultation with local authorities across the UK in order to assess capacity for the care of unaccompanied children. On the 13 May 2016 the then Immigration Minister wrote to all local authorities to provide an update on the launch of the National Transfer Scheme (NTS) and to encourage local authorities to participate in all schemes designed for children. On 7 June 2016 the then Immigration Minister, the Minister for Vulnerable Children and Families and the then Minister with responsibility for Syrian Refugees attended a national launch event in London which was attended by local authorities from across the UK.

This was followed by regional events in Leicester, Exeter, Middlesbrough, Leeds, Huntingdon, Bedford, Birmingham, Manchester, Llandidrod Wells, Edinburgh and two further events in London. These events outlined how unaccompanied children arriving from Europe would be placed into local authority care through the National Transfer Scheme (NTS) for unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) and were attended by representatives from over 400 local authorities.

Following this nationwide programme of events, in September 2016 I wrote again to all local authorities in England, Wales and Scotland asking them to confirm how many unaccompanied asylum seeking children they could accommodate under the NTS. Home Office officials also maintained an ongoing dialogue with individual local authorities and regional Strategic Migration Partnerships.

We asked local authorities to consider carefully whether they have the infrastructure and support networks needed to ensure the appropriate care of these unaccompanied children before participating in the NTS

Local authorities told us they had capacity for an additional 400 UASC until the end of the 2016/17 financial year. This is in addition to the unaccompanied children already in local authority care. We estimate that at least 50 of the family reunion cases will require a local authority placement in circumstances where the reunion does not work out

It is for individual local authorities to decide the number of children they are able to accommodate but we continue to work with those not currently participating in the National Transfer Scheme to support them to do so at the earliest opportunity.

The Marriage Allowance was introduced in April 2015, to recognise the importance of marriage in the tax system and support those on low incomes. Over 1.6 million couples have successfully applied for the Marriage Allowance, with around one million applying so far in this tax year.

The Government is committed to raising awareness of the savings the allowance will bring to eligible couples. HM Revenue and Customs ran a marketing campaign in the autumn of 2016, comprising radio, digital, social media and search engine advertising. A further round of advertising commenced on 20 February and will run through to 31 March 2017.

As with all efforts to promote awareness of tax reliefs and allowances, the Government will keep the effectiveness of these marketing campaigns under review.

My hon. Friend is right to raise that matter. It is a really important issue given the movement of migrants and refugees. Ensuring the safety of refugees and protecting them from persecution is absolutely at the heart of the UK’s involvement, especially with regard to the aid and support that we provide in Syria

and the wider region. I can assure him that all the agencies and partners with which we work pay particular attention to monitoring the welfare and safety of minorities, including those of Christians.

The situation in Syria is devastating and appalling. The UN estimates that 13.5 million Syrians are in need of humanitarian assistance, and 1.5 million are living in siege-like conditions. There are 4.9 million refugees in the region. The UK, as my hon. Friend will know, has been at the forefront of the international effort in providing support to the region and to Syria directly.

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I think we all applaud the good faith and dedication of the two leaders, who are working tirelessly towards a solution. There are other ingredients that are necessary, such as the co-operation of the two main countries next door, Greece and Turkey, and—this is very important—successful referendums in each community.

We are reviewing the identification of and support provided to victims of modern slavery and are piloting a new National Referral Mechanism model. The pilot is due to end on 31 March and will be fully evaluated. The Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner’s letter will be considered alongside the full evaluation of the pilot.