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1659257

	registered interest
	date	07/09/2023
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Children
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that unaccompanied child asylum seekers arriving in the UK are not placed in adult prisons.
	tabling member printed	Earl Russell
	uin	HL9992
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/09/2023 answer text <p>Determining the age of a young person is a difficult task and therefore, the age assessment process for immigration purposes contains safeguards.</p><p>Where a new arrival does not have genuine documentary evidence of their age and their claimed age is doubted, an initial age decision is conducted as a first step to prevent individuals who are clearly an adult or minor from being subjected unnecessarily to a more substantive age assessment and ensure that new arrivals are routed into the correct accommodation and processes for assessing their asylum or immigration claim. The lawfulness of the initial decision on age process was endorsed by the Supreme Court in the case of R (on the application of BF (Eritrea)) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] UKSC 38.</p><p>Where doubt remains and an individual cannot be assessed to be significantly over 18, they will be treated as a minor for immigration purposes until further assessment of their age by a local authority.</p><p>The Home Office initial decision on age is not binding on the courts, and where the Court has doubt whether the individual is a minor or not, the courts will take a decision on the age of an individual before them based on the available evidence. This decision would then determine the type of detention estate someone is sent to if given a custodial sentence or remanded in custody. If an individual is sent to an adult prison and is later found to be a child, they can be moved to the youth custody estate if there continues to be a need to detain them.</p><p>The recent legislative reforms introduced by this government will improve the accuracy of the scientific age assessment outcomes, minimising the risk that a person will be incorrectly treated as either an adult or a minor and ensure that age-appropriate services and care are reserved for genuine minors.</p> answering member printed Lord Murray of Blidworth question first answered 21/09/2023 15:24:27 answering member 4950 label Biography information for Lord Murray of Blidworth
	tabling member	4983 label Biography information for Earl Russell

1659256

	registered interest
	date	07/09/2023
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Children
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government how many unaccompanied child asylum seekers have been placed in HMP Elmley in Kent; and how many are still held there.
	tabling member printed	Earl Russell
	uin	HL9991
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/09/2023 answer text <p>The Home Office does not collect data on the number of age dispute cases that have arisen in adult prisons and is unable to confirm the statistics referenced in the Guardian article, which are derived from local authority responses to an FOI request. Our published data on age assessment can be accessed here. Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</p><p>Furthermore, the Home Office published data on age disputes aggregates the age disputes resolved by including the outcomes of initial age decisions by the Home Office taken at the point of first contact, comprehensive Merton compliant age assessments conducted by social workers and any subsequent legal challenge into one category.</p> answering member printed Lord Murray of Blidworth question first answered 21/09/2023 15:25:34 answering member 4950 label Biography information for Lord Murray of Blidworth
	tabling member	4983 label Biography information for Earl Russell

1659251

	registered interest
	date	07/09/2023
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the National Audit Office's report on the Government's Asylum and Protection Transformation Programme.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of Leicester
	uin	HL9986
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/09/2023 answer text <p>The NAO report into the Asylum &amp; Protection Transformation Programme fully recognises the significance of the transformation programme, and the efforts of the Home Office to reform the asylum and protection system.</p><p>The report acknowledges the key work the programme has done to date to tackle the challenges facing the asylum system, but notes concern around securing dispersal accommodation, and the ability of decision makers to clear the backlog. The report suggested three recommendations for the programme to increase its chances of success, all of which are accepted and embedded within our programme approach going forward.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Murray of Blidworth question first answered 21/09/2023 15:27:03 answering member 4950 label Biography information for Lord Murray of Blidworth
	tabling member	4947 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of Leicester

1676509

	registered interest
	date	07/12/2023
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Visas: Ministers of Religion
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Statement by the Secretary of State for Home Affairs on legal migration on 4 December (HC Deb cols 41–43), whether raising the minimum income for family visas to £38,700 will apply to ministers of religion with qualifying family dependants, including spouses and fiancées, who are foreign nationals residing overseas.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of Norwich
	uin	HL992
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/12/2023 answer text <p>Those sponsoring applicants on the partner and child family route are required to meet the Minimum Income Requirement. At present there are no exceptions for specific jobs or professions.</p> answering member printed Lord Sharpe of Epsom question first answered 20/12/2023 16:30:24 answering member 4888 label Biography information for Lord Sharpe of Epsom
	tabling member	4999 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of Norwich

1676508

	registered interest
	date	07/12/2023
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Visas: Ministers of Religion
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Statement by the Secretary of State for Home Affairs on legal migration on 4 December (HC Deb cols 41–43), what changes, if any, will be made to the existing Tier 2 Minister of Religion visa category.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of Norwich
	uin	HL991
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/12/2023 answer text <p>The changes announced by the Home Secretary did not include any amendments to the T2 Minister of Religion route. There are no plans to make any changes to the route at this time.</p> answering member printed Lord Sharpe of Epsom question first answered 21/12/2023 15:15:04 answering member 4888 label Biography information for Lord Sharpe of Epsom
	tabling member	4999 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of Norwich

1676507

	registered interest
	date	07/12/2023
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Rwanda
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government how Rwanda compares in population density with (1) China, (2) Russia, (3) the USA, (4) Australia, (5) Libya, (6) France, (7) Spain, (8) Germany, (9) the UK, and (10) Greece; and how relevant they regard that measure in their policy for transporting migrants from the UK to Rwanda.
	tabling member printed	Lord Marlesford
	uin	HL990
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/12/2023 answer text <p>The table below shows the estimated population density (the number of people per square kilometre) of the countries listed based on UN statistics published in October 2023<sup>1</sup>. The countries are ordered as in the question plus Rwanda at 11:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Country</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Population density </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>China<sup>2</sup></p></td><td><p>148.5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>Russia</p></td><td><p>8.8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>3</p></td><td><p>United States of America</p></td><td><p>37.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>4</p></td><td><p>Australia</p></td><td><p>3.4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>5</p></td><td><p>Libya</p></td><td><p>4.1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>France</p></td><td><p>117.2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>7</p></td><td><p>Spain</p></td><td><p>94.7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>Germany</p></td><td><p>239.2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>9</p></td><td><p>United Kingdom</p></td><td><p>278.1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>Greece</p></td><td><p>79.4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>11</p></td><td><p>Rwanda</p></td><td><p>569.1</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><sup>1 </sup>UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, ‘Statistical Yearbook 2023, Sixty-sixth issue’ (pages 15 to 35), October 2023</p><p><sup>2 </sup>For statistical purposes, the UN data for China do not include the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region and Taiwan</p><p> </p><p>Population was one of a range of factors that was considered when entering into the Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda.</p> answering member printed Lord Sharpe of Epsom question first answered 20/12/2023 16:39:44 answering member 4888 label Biography information for Lord Sharpe of Epsom
	tabling member	1854 label Biography information for Lord Marlesford

1676504

	registered interest
	date	07/12/2023
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Immigration: Personal Income
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what is the percentage of UK citizens who earn above £38,700; and whether it is an intended consequence of the plan to "cut migration levels and to curb abuse of the immigration system", as announced by the Home Secretary on 4 December, to allow only UK citizens who earn above the £38,700 threshold to marry a non-British spouse and to sponsor them to live in the UK from April 2024.
	tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
	uin	HL987
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/12/2023 answer text <p>At the current Minimum Income Requirement (MIR) level of £18,600, 75% of the UK working population (based on ASHE earnings data) meet the MIR level. At the higher MIR of £38,700 – the median salary level for those on the skilled worker route, and all else being constant, around 30% of the UK working population could meet the threshold based on earnings alone. The MIR will be increased in incremental stages to give predictability. In Spring 2024, we will raise the threshold to £29,000, that is the 25<sup>th</sup> percentile of earnings for jobs which are eligible for Skilled Worker visas, moving to the 40<sup>th</sup> percentile (currently £34,500) and finally the 50<sup>th</sup> percentile (currently £38,700 and the level at which the general skilled worker threshold is set) in the final stage of implementation.</p><p>Family life must not be established here at the taxpayer’s expense and family migrants must be able to integrate if they are to play a full part in British life. The MIR has not been increased for over a decade and no longer reflects the level of income required by a family to ensure they are self-sufficient and do not need to rely on public funds. It is intended that this change will contribute to reducing net migration when it is introduced in spring 2024.</p> answering member printed Lord Sharpe of Epsom question first answered 21/12/2023 15:16:33 answering member 4888 label Biography information for Lord Sharpe of Epsom
	tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

1676499

	registered interest
	date	07/12/2023
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Visas: Married People
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government how many UK citizens have a foreign spouse whom they have sponsored to live in the UK under the current family visa system; what is the number of foreign spouses living in the UK on family visas expressed as a percentage of net migration in the most recent annual figures available; and what is the estimated cost to the public of foreign spouses of UK citizens living in the UK on family visas.
	tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
	uin	HL982
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/12/2023 answer text <p>The number of UK citizens that have a foreign spouse whom they have sponsored to live in the UK under the current family visa system, the number of foreign spouses living in the UK on family visas expressed as a percentage of net migration in the most recent annual figures available and the estimated cost to the public of foreign spouses of UK citizens living in the UK on family visas does not form part of any current transparency data or migration statistics and is not published.</p><p> </p><p>Transparency data is published quarterly on Gov.uk and includes data on the number of visas issued on family routes, although this does not necessarily equate to foreign spouses living in the UK.</p> answering member printed Lord Sharpe of Epsom question first answered 19/12/2023 16:01:13 answering member 4888 label Biography information for Lord Sharpe of Epsom
	tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

1676498

	registered interest
	date	07/12/2023
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Children
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government how many unaccompanied asylum-seeking children have gone missing from Home Office accommodation since 2021 in (1) Leicester, and (2) Leicestershire.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of Leicester
	uin	HL981
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/12/2023 answer text <p>The wellbeing of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children is our priority. We maintain that the best place for these children to be accommodated is within local authority care.</p><p>There are currently no unaccompanied children in hotels and there has never been unaccompanied asylum seeking hotels in Leicester. Nationally all unaccompanied children’s hotel accommodation has been empty since 18 November 2023. Of the 7 hotels which were operational in 2022, 6 of those were closed permanently on 30 November 2023.</p><p>We take the safety of those in our care seriously. We have robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all young people in emergency interim hotels were safe and supported as we sought urgent placements with a local authority.</p><p>The specific data requested cannot be provided as it comes from live operational databases that have not been quality assured.</p><p>The most recent published data can be found at Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (<a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7Cministerforcrimeandpolicing%40homeoffice.gov.uk%7Cf85bd4247929422158cc08dc02262860%7Cf24d93ecb2914192a08af182245945c2%7C0%7C0%7C638387610212132362%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=Fwar%2FaMFxDhCGKBRYwu4HeYh2mzhVtnrAvP9NZglKHk%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">www.gov.uk</a>).</p> answering member printed Lord Sharpe of Epsom grouped question UIN HL980 question first answered 21/12/2023 14:30:04 answering member 4888 label Biography information for Lord Sharpe of Epsom
	tabling member	4947 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of Leicester

1676497

	registered interest
	date	07/12/2023
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Children
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government how many unaccompanied asylum-seeking children have been received into Home Office accommodation each year since 2021 in (1) Leicester, and (2) Leicestershire.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of Leicester
	uin	HL980
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/12/2023 answer text <p>The wellbeing of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children is our priority. We maintain that the best place for these children to be accommodated is within local authority care.</p><p>There are currently no unaccompanied children in hotels and there has never been unaccompanied asylum seeking hotels in Leicester. Nationally all unaccompanied children’s hotel accommodation has been empty since 18 November 2023. Of the 7 hotels which were operational in 2022, 6 of those were closed permanently on 30 November 2023.</p><p>We take the safety of those in our care seriously. We have robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all young people in emergency interim hotels were safe and supported as we sought urgent placements with a local authority.</p><p>The specific data requested cannot be provided as it comes from live operational databases that have not been quality assured.</p><p>The most recent published data can be found at Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (<a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7Cministerforcrimeandpolicing%40homeoffice.gov.uk%7Cf85bd4247929422158cc08dc02262860%7Cf24d93ecb2914192a08af182245945c2%7C0%7C0%7C638387610212132362%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=Fwar%2FaMFxDhCGKBRYwu4HeYh2mzhVtnrAvP9NZglKHk%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">www.gov.uk</a>).</p> answering member printed Lord Sharpe of Epsom grouped question UIN HL981 question first answered 21/12/2023 14:30:04 answering member 4888 label Biography information for Lord Sharpe of Epsom
	tabling member	4947 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of Leicester