6 bits of terrible news slipped out by the Tories as MPs head off on Easter holidays

As MPs break up for the Easter recess, Rishi Sunak’s government attempted to sweep some bad news under the carpet, including stats blunders and embarrassing reports

After a Budget that failed to make a dent in Labour’s double-digit poll lead and weeks of plotting in the warring Tory ranks, the 19-day Easter recess will be a welcome break for Rishi Sunak.

When he returns the Conservatives will be bracing for a bruising night at the local and Mayoral elections on May 2 while defending a slim majority in the Blackpool South by-election. Mr Sunak will also continue to face pressure to name the date for this year’s general election after he was accused of chickening out of a May vote a fortnight ago. 

But before MPs flee the Commons, the Government has been busy trying to sweep bad news under the carpet on the final day before the Parliamentary recess - also known as ’Take out the Trash day’ here at Westminster.

Here The Mirror has a round-up of the bad news the Tories attempted to slip out. 

Home Office shambles saw 275 visas given to fake care home company

Ministers slipped out two damning reports accusing the Government of a “totally inadequate” handling of immigration.

An inspection at London City Airport identified "a significant risk to security" as private jets are landing in the UK without undergoing proper checks. But the Home Office stopped the release of numbers showing the scale of the problem. A review of the social care sector found migrants with care visas working illegally in a quarter of enforcement visits.

David Neal, who wrote the reports, was sacked as the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, after he went public with his concerns after the Government delayed their publication. In his report on social care, he warned of “shocking” examples “including the case of 275 certificates of sponsorship being granted to a care home that did not exist".

He added: “After Border Force officers raised suspicions about workers arriving in the UK to work for the company, contact was made with the care home by the Home Office. It was only at this stage that the Home Office found that the care home whose details had been provided for the licence… had no knowledge of the application.” 

A certificate of sponsorship is given to migrants by the firm sponsoring their visa application.

“The Home Office created a system that invited large numbers of low-skilled workers to this country who are at risk from exploitation,” Mr Neal wrote. “Moreover, its control measures to mitigate the risk were totally inadequate. There is just one compliance officer for every 1,600 employers licensed to sponsor migrant workers.”

Labour’s Yvette Cooper described the reports as “scandalous”. The Shadow Home Secretary said: “They expose a Conservative government which has lost control of our borders and our border security.

Border Force Director General, Phil Douglas said: “Border Security checks were carried out on all general aviation arrivals at London City Airport.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “We have already intervened to stop the flow of overseas care workers entering the UK where there is no genuine role for them to undertake and taken robust action against businesses committing labour exploitation. We do not tolerate illegal activity in the labour market and we will continue to revoke licenses from those who abuse the system. We do not tolerate illegal activity in the labour market and we will continue to revoke licenses from those who abuse the system."

Bottle recycling scheme delayed again

The Tories’ 2019 election manifesto promised to introduce a deposit return scheme to incentivise people to recycle plastic and glass. But the Environment Secretary Steve Barclay told MPs on Tuesday that launching the flagship scheme in 2025 - after the next general election - was no longer realistic.

Instead, a 2027 deadline is "probably more likely", the Cabinet Minister said. The launch of the scheme had already been delayed from late 2024 to October 2025.

Mr Barclay said: "Given this balance between the benefits of the scheme versus the benefits of having something interoperable, I don’t think 2025 is now realistic and certainly I don’t think business would view it as a realistic deadline," he said. But I suspect if I was pushed on it, a sort of 2027 deadline is probably more likely."

Stats error over Healthy Start vouchers

Bungling officials provided incorrect data on how many people were benefitting from the Healthy Start scheme, which helps poorer parents buy vitamins and healthy food for their children.

In a written statement slipped out tonight, Health Minister Dame Andrea Leadsom admitted that figures provided between July 2023 and February 2024 were inaccurate. It meant the Government underestimated the number of people eligible for the vouchers and overstated the take-up.

However Ms Leadsom said: "It is important to state that this issue affected eligibility uptake statistics only; it did not impact any Healthy Start individual applicants, existing beneficiaries, or live claim processes."

Fossil fuel blunder

In 2021 the Government announced it would not longer provide support for the fossil fuel energy sector overseas - other than in exceptional circumstances. But in a statement Tory minister Greg Hands admitted there been an error in a "limited number" of cases.

He said: "During this period, 134 projects worth £747 million were recorded as having been supported by departmental officials in some capacity. These 134 projects are a small proportion (1.00%) of the 13,457 projects, and the £0.747 billion of export wins are similarly a small proportion (1.35%) of the total value of £55.342 billion of exports in these years.

"None of these projects were subject to the approval of Government Ministers and Ministers were not made aware of these projects until the discrepancies were discovered recently by officials."

Routine Covid tests axed for care homes

Routine Covid tests for people being discharged from hospitals into care homes will be stopped from next week.

In a written statement slipped out before the Easter break, Health Minister Maria Caulfield said that patients without Covid symptoms will no longer automatically get a lateral flow test before leaving hospital for a care home or hospice from April 1.

Provision of free tests in high risk settings in England will also come to an end next week under the Government’s "Living with Covid-19" blueprint. The shift is designed to bring Covid guidance in line with other respiratory illnesses like flu, four years on from the start of the first national lockdown.

Ms Caulfield said: "Given the high levels of vaccination among groups at higher risk, wider access to treatments and reduced impact of outbreaks, the Government is now able to remove some of the highly targeted testing which remains in place from the height of the pandemic."

Gender pay gap jumps at criminal record checks agency

The mean gender pay gap at the DBS increased to 8.09% in 2022/23 from 6.77% the year before.

The Disclosure and Barring Service, which is sponsored by the Home Office, provides certificates to people to help “employers make safer recruitment decisions”. For instance, teachers need to get a DBS check before working with children. The service checks people’s criminal records.

It said the increase in the gender pay gap stems from “internal structural changes”, adding: “Developing a more diverse workforce, which reflects the public we serve, including having the appropriate gender balance at all levels of the organisation, plays a key role in delivering this priority.

“This 2022/23 report shows that, although we are disappointed that we are not making the progress we had hoped, we have a sound understanding of the drivers for the increase in the mean gender pay gap at DBS, and a robust action plan in place to address these.”

David Wilson