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1301605

	registered interest
	date	10/03/2021
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	UN Climate Conference 2021: Visas
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that visa applications from COP26 attendees are dealt with efficiently.
	tabling member printed	Viscount Waverley
	uin	HL14118
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2021 answer text <p>The Home Office is working closely with Cabinet Office, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and other government departments on preparations for welcoming participants to COP 26.</p><p>The Home Office has provided the UNFCCC with information on the visa application process and will be supplying event specific guidance in the upcoming months.</p><p>Arrangements are in progress to ensure entry clearance staff will be able to cross reference applications with the UNFCCC to confirm invitations of those registered to attend the event along with an escalation process.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 24/03/2021 17:27:48 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	1744 label Biography information for Viscount Waverley

1402543

	registered interest
	date	12/01/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Migrants and Refugees
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their definition of (1) a refugee, and (2) a migrant; and what are the practical consequences of the distinction between them.
	tabling member printed	Viscount Waverley
	uin	HL5374
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/01/2022 answer text <p>Refugee status is granted when an individual has a well-founded fear of persecution under the Refugee Convention. Those who are not in need of protection are required to leave the UK or apply for leave to remain on another basis.</p><p> </p><p>Paragraph 334 of the Immigration Rules sets out the circumstances in which an asylum applicant will be granted Refugee Status in the UK. 334(ii) confirms that an individual must be a refugee as defined in regulation 2 of The Refugee or Person in Need of International Protection (Qualification) Regulations 2006.</p><p> </p><p>The 2006 Regulations refer to individuals who fall within Article 1(A) of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees done at Geneva on 28 July 1951 and the New York Protocol of 31 January 1967 and to whom regulation 7 (Exclusion) does not apply.</p><p>The Nationality and Borders Bill is aiming to make the definition of a refugee even clearer, improving the consistency of decisions across all decision makers (including the Courts).</p><p>The conditions of refugee leave which a person will be granted if they qualify for refugee status under the Immigration Rules is broadly five years’ limited leave, access to the labour market and welfare support, and a route to apply for settlement after five years.</p><p>The term migrant is not routinely used in legislation – it is more common to refer to “a person subject to immigration control”. The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002A does include a definition of a migrant for the purposes of section 59(3)(a) being “a person who leaves the country where he lives hoping to settle in another country (whether or not he is a refugee within the meaning of any international Convention)”. However, that definition is used in a specific context and not more broadly in terms of legislation.</p><p>In practical terms, an individual subject to immigration control requires specific permission to stay in the UK and will usually be subject to conditions attached to that permission. These conditions vary depending on the type of leave for which an individual applies.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 26/01/2022 16:20:39 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	1744 label Biography information for Viscount Waverley

1491793

	registered interest
	date	21/07/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Visas: Dependants and Married People
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the current waiting times for (1) spousal, and (2) dependant, visa applications.
	tabling member printed	Viscount Waverley
	uin	HL2053
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/08/2022 answer text <p>The Home Office had been prioritising Ukraine Visa Schemes applications in response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Staff from other government departments, including DWP and HMRC, have been surged into the department to help with Ukraine work and enable normal visa routes to return to normal service levels in due course.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 04/08/2022 14:57:45 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	1744 label Biography information for Viscount Waverley

1329114

	registered interest
	date	27/05/2021
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Fraud: Internet
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of crime in England is categorised as online fraud; what percentage of policing resource is dedicated to combatting online fraud; and what plans they have to increase the level of police resource allocated to tackling digital crime.
	tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
	uin	HL664
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2021 answer text <p>The Government is aware that fraudsters continue to exploit technology and the internet to commit their crimes. Recent ONS estimates suggest that around 53% of all fraud is online enabled (<em>Crime Survey of England and Wales data covering personal incidents of fraud and not fraud against businesses: Nature of crime: fraud and computer misuse - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)</em>. This Government is determined to drive down the number of these frauds and to protect the public from their harm.</p><p>Decisions on the allocation of funding received by Police Forces are determined at a local level in line with the priorities set by each Police and Crime Commissioner as part of their Police and Crime Plan. The Government continues to fund fraud capability to tackle these crimes. As part of the 2020 Spending Review, the Government committed a further £63m to the Home Office to tackle economic crime, including fraud. This is in addition to the £10m funding that the Home Office commits each year to the City of London Police to run the existing Action Fraud and National Fraud Intelligence Bureau services.</p><p>However, we will continue to explore all opportunities to go further on fraud and online, digital crime, including through the upcoming Spending Review.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 11/06/2021 13:35:13 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

1332180

	registered interest
	date	10/06/2021
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Immigration Controls: Heathrow Airport
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many additional Border Force staff have been mobilised since 17 May to reduce the queueing time at passport control in Heathrow Airport; and what is the average queueing time at passport control on arrival at Heathrow.
	tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
	uin	HL1007
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2021 answer text <p>Border Force is ensuring that it has the right level of resources to check that passengers are compliant with our border health measures to minimise wait times at the border whilst ensuring we maintain border security and public health.</p><p>We have taken steps to make sure that there is the maximum number of additional Border Force officers possible to carry out those crucial checks, ensuring compliance with health measures, while minimizing wait time.</p><p>Since January 2020 to May 2021 Border Force overall workforce has grown by over 290 to a figure of around 9,300 FTE.</p><p>This is in addition to the return of staff from detached duty and the return of critically vulnerable staff to the front line, as well the capability to deploy resources flexibly across the United Kingdom to deal with any increase on demand.</p><p>As the Director General of Border Force stated at the Public Account Committee session on the 10<sup>th</sup> June, the average time this year for anyone travelling through Heathrow has been under 30 minutes.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 24/06/2021 14:31:07 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

1359041

	registered interest
	date	14/10/2021
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Refugees: Afghanistan
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) what assessment they have made of the number of refugees expected to flee Afghanistan in the next six months, and (2) what steps are they taking, domestically and with international partners, to manage the arrival of Afghan refugees to the UK and Europe.
	tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
	uin	HL3109
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/11/2021 answer text <p>The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will welcome 5,000 people at risk in the first year, and up to 20,000 in the coming years.</p><p>Work is underway across the whole of Government to ensure families who were evacuated from Afghanistan are supported, as they rebuild their lives in the UK. The support provided is similar to the commitments in the Syrian Resettlement Programme, providing people with the vital access to accommodation, health care, education and support into employment they need to fully integrate into society.</p><p>The Government will continue to work closely with other government departments, non-governmental organisations, international organisations, charities, local authorities and other partners in the development and implementation of the ACRS.</p><p>Further details of the Government’s approach can be found in the policy statement published on 13 September:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statement/afghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statement-accessible-version" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statement/afghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statement-accessible-version</a></p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 01/11/2021 15:45:13 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

1388375

	registered interest
	date	15/12/2021
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Visas: British National (Overseas)
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people from Hong Kong have (1) applied to relocate to the UK under the British Nationals (Overseas) (BNO) visa scheme since January, and (2) arrived in the UK under the BNO visa scheme since January; and what steps they have taken to help such people settle within local communities.
	tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
	uin	HL5019
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/12/2021 answer text <table><tbody><tr><td><p>(1) The Home Office publishes data on visas and the British National Overseas (BN(O)) route in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’ which can be found on Gov.uk The data relates to the first three quarters of 2021, January to September, and are derived from management information. These statistics include data on main applicants and dependants and some data are rounded to the nearest hundred. Data for Q4 2021 will be published on 24 February 2022. (2) At present it is not possible from the data to say how many of those issued with a visa have arrived in the UK. (3) In April 2021, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) launched a new UK-wide Welcome Programme to support Hong Kong British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) status holders with a package worth £43.1 million for this financial year.</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 22/12/2021 16:40:05 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

1402905

	registered interest
	date	13/01/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Refugees: Afghanistan
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many refugees have been evacuated from Afghanistan to the UK since August 2021; how many of those are currently living in temporary accommodation in the UK; and how many of those have been found permanent homes in England.
	tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
	uin	HL5386
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/01/2022 answer text <p>Over 15,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan under Operation Pitting. A further 1,500 people have been given assistance to enter the UK since the initial evacuation took place.</p><p>Those who we evacuated were a mixture of British Nationals, mixed family units and those who qualified for ARAP and who will qualify for ACRS</p><p>There are currently 12,000 in Bridging Hotel Accommodation.</p><p>To date we have successfully moved over 4,000 people into permanent accommodation and are working at pace with our Local Authority partners in order to secure permanent accommodation for those still in temporary accommodation.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 27/01/2022 12:22:03 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

1402908

	registered interest
	date	13/01/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Hate Crime
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to require (1) web hosting services, (2) technology companies, and (3) non-UK based service providers such as Cloudflare, to do more to identify and remove hateful content in order to protect the public; and whether they believe 'incel' content constitutes terrorism.
	tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
	uin	HL5389
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2022 answer text <p>Our objective is to ensure that there are no safe spaces online for all forms of terrorists to promote or share their extreme views. To tackle terrorism online, the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit refers illegal terrorist content to tech companies for removal. Within the Home Office, we encourage tech companies to work together as one coordinated body through the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism to reduce the availability of terrorist content online.</p><p>We have also published the draft Online Safety Bill, which gives effect to the regulatory framework outlined in the Full Government Response to the Online Harms White Paper. The Joint Committee for pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Bill published its report on 14<sup>th</sup> December, and we will prioritise introduction of the Bill once we have carefully considered the Committee’s recommendations.</p><p>We want the internet to be a safe space for all users - we are clear that what is unacceptable offline should be unacceptable online. However, we recognise the complexities in adapting our approach against an ever-changing technological landscape. We have committed to publishing a new Hate Crime Strategy, building on our achievements under the 2016-2020 Hate Crime Action Plan, which improved the response to all forms of hate crime, including online.</p><p>Whether or not online content relates to an offence contrary to terrorism legislation is a matter for the police to investigate and will be determined by the facts of each case. The Government is however clear that the definition of terrorism within the Terrorism Act 2000 remains fit for purpose and capable of responding to modern forms of terrorism. Serious violence or the threat of serious violence for the purpose of advancing an ideological cause, including where this is inspired by incel beliefs, is capable of satisfying the definition of terrorism. This is a position supported by the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 04/02/2022 14:51:17 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

1439962

	registered interest
	date	10/03/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Visas: Ukraine
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many visa applications they have received under the Ukraine Family Scheme to date; and how many visas have been granted.
	tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
	uin	HL6874
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2022 answer text <p>General information on the number of applications currently being processed under the newly launched Ukraine Family Scheme can be found in our published data on the GOV.UK webpage Ukraine Family Scheme: application data 23 March 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 24/03/2022 17:47:58 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian