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100071

	registered interest
	date	21/10/2014
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have assessed the effectiveness of the combination of the Azure payment card and support under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 in enabling refused asylum seekers to meet their basic needs.
	tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
	uin	HL2277
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2014 answer text <p>The Azure card is issued to destitute failed asylum seekers accommodated under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 because they are temporarily unable to leave the United Kingdom. The card can be used at most of the main supermarket chains to purchase food and other essential items. The performance of the card is kept under regular review but the Government is satisfied that it is an effective way of ensuring that recipients are able to meet their essential living needs and are not left destitute.</p><p> </p><p>The Government therefore has no plans to abolish the card or change legislation to allow people supported under section 4 to receive cash instead.</p><p> </p><p>The total administrative costs of the card scheme since it was introduced in 2009 are approximately £1,515,000. Estimated administrative costs for the current financial year are £200,000.</p><p> </p><p>The Government published its response to the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee report about asylum procedures in December 2013 (cm 8769). A response to the Committee’s views on section 4 support was set out on page 18-19.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL2278 HL2279 HL2280 HL2281 question first answered 28/10/2014 15:17:54 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

100072

	registered interest
	date	21/10/2014
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to abolish the Azure payment card and amend legislation to enable the provision of cash support for all refused asylum seekers until they are either given status in the United Kingdom or return to their country of origin.
	tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
	uin	HL2278
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2014 answer text <p>The Azure card is issued to destitute failed asylum seekers accommodated under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 because they are temporarily unable to leave the United Kingdom. The card can be used at most of the main supermarket chains to purchase food and other essential items. The performance of the card is kept under regular review but the Government is satisfied that it is an effective way of ensuring that recipients are able to meet their essential living needs and are not left destitute.</p><p> </p><p>The Government therefore has no plans to abolish the card or change legislation to allow people supported under section 4 to receive cash instead.</p><p> </p><p>The total administrative costs of the card scheme since it was introduced in 2009 are approximately £1,515,000. Estimated administrative costs for the current financial year are £200,000.</p><p> </p><p>The Government published its response to the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee report about asylum procedures in December 2013 (cm 8769). A response to the Committee’s views on section 4 support was set out on page 18-19.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL2277 HL2279 HL2280 HL2281 question first answered 28/10/2014 15:17:55 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

100073

	registered interest
	date	21/10/2014
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much they have spent on administering the Azure card system since its inception.
	tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
	uin	HL2279
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2014 answer text <p>The Azure card is issued to destitute failed asylum seekers accommodated under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 because they are temporarily unable to leave the United Kingdom. The card can be used at most of the main supermarket chains to purchase food and other essential items. The performance of the card is kept under regular review but the Government is satisfied that it is an effective way of ensuring that recipients are able to meet their essential living needs and are not left destitute.</p><p> </p><p>The Government therefore has no plans to abolish the card or change legislation to allow people supported under section 4 to receive cash instead.</p><p> </p><p>The total administrative costs of the card scheme since it was introduced in 2009 are approximately £1,515,000. Estimated administrative costs for the current financial year are £200,000.</p><p> </p><p>The Government published its response to the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee report about asylum procedures in December 2013 (cm 8769). A response to the Committee’s views on section 4 support was set out on page 18-19.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL2277 HL2278 HL2280 HL2281 question first answered 28/10/2014 15:17:55 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

100074

	registered interest
	date	21/10/2014
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their forecast annual cost for administering the Azure card payment scheme in the coming year.
	tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
	uin	HL2280
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2014 answer text <p>The Azure card is issued to destitute failed asylum seekers accommodated under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 because they are temporarily unable to leave the United Kingdom. The card can be used at most of the main supermarket chains to purchase food and other essential items. The performance of the card is kept under regular review but the Government is satisfied that it is an effective way of ensuring that recipients are able to meet their essential living needs and are not left destitute.</p><p> </p><p>The Government therefore has no plans to abolish the card or change legislation to allow people supported under section 4 to receive cash instead.</p><p> </p><p>The total administrative costs of the card scheme since it was introduced in 2009 are approximately £1,515,000. Estimated administrative costs for the current financial year are £200,000.</p><p> </p><p>The Government published its response to the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee report about asylum procedures in December 2013 (cm 8769). A response to the Committee’s views on section 4 support was set out on page 18-19.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL2277 HL2278 HL2279 HL2281 question first answered 28/10/2014 15:17:56 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

100075

	registered interest
	date	21/10/2014
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the conclusion of the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee that "section 4 is not the solution for people who have been refused but cannot be returned" as stated in their report <i>Asylum</i> (7th Report of session 2013–14, HC 71).
	tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
	uin	HL2281
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2014 answer text <p>The Azure card is issued to destitute failed asylum seekers accommodated under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 because they are temporarily unable to leave the United Kingdom. The card can be used at most of the main supermarket chains to purchase food and other essential items. The performance of the card is kept under regular review but the Government is satisfied that it is an effective way of ensuring that recipients are able to meet their essential living needs and are not left destitute.</p><p> </p><p>The Government therefore has no plans to abolish the card or change legislation to allow people supported under section 4 to receive cash instead.</p><p> </p><p>The total administrative costs of the card scheme since it was introduced in 2009 are approximately £1,515,000. Estimated administrative costs for the current financial year are £200,000.</p><p> </p><p>The Government published its response to the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee report about asylum procedures in December 2013 (cm 8769). A response to the Committee’s views on section 4 support was set out on page 18-19.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL2277 HL2278 HL2279 HL2280 question first answered 28/10/2014 15:17:56 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

100998

	registered interest
	date	27/10/2014
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many retailers are part of the Azure Card programme; and what is the total amount spent with each retailer since the card's inception.
	tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
	uin	HL2454
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2014 answer text <p>The Azure card is issued to destitute failed asylum seekers accommodated under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 because they are temporarily unable to leave the United Kingdom.</p><p>The card is updated each week with credit to the value of £35.39 for each person in the household to enable them to buy enough food and other essential items.</p><p>The table below lists the retailers that accept the Azure card and the total amounts spent at each of them since it was introduced. The table includes Peacocks, which no longer participates in the card scheme.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Retailer Name</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Value (£)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Tesco</p></td><td><p>20,660,480.59</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Asda</p></td><td><p>11,373,929.59</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sainsbury's</p></td><td><p>5,935,535.81</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Morrisons</p></td><td><p>2,528,626.86</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Boots</p></td><td><p>2,478,849.23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Peacock Group</p></td><td><p>333,709.46</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Co-operative Group Food</p></td><td><p>250,074.03</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Food City Halal Market</p></td><td><p>202,813.59</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mothercare</p></td><td><p>39,947.70</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Iceland Foods</p></td><td><p>38,311.88</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Midlands Co-operative</p></td><td><p>22,172.05</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Salvation Army</p></td><td><p>3,544.40</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>British Red Cross</p></td><td><p>3,380.32</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Masala Bazaar</p></td><td><p>330.55</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Holland and Barrett</p></td><td><p>326.68</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Information and training materials are provided to the retailers about the terms and conditions attached to the card, which are reviewed and updated regularly.</p><p>We are aware of some isolated instances where people have been denied purchases, but in the great majority of cases this is because they had insufficient funds on the card to buy the particular items.</p><p>If there is a defect in the card that means it cannot be used, for example because it has been damaged, arrangements are made to issue vouchers.</p><p> </p><p><br></p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL2455 HL2456 HL2458 question first answered 11/11/2014 17:10:18 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

100999

	registered interest
	date	27/10/2014
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government why an Azure Card user does not qualify for emergency food vouchers when a technical problem occurs with the card.
	tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
	uin	HL2455
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2014 answer text <p>The Azure card is issued to destitute failed asylum seekers accommodated under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 because they are temporarily unable to leave the United Kingdom.</p><p>The card is updated each week with credit to the value of £35.39 for each person in the household to enable them to buy enough food and other essential items.</p><p>The table below lists the retailers that accept the Azure card and the total amounts spent at each of them since it was introduced. The table includes Peacocks, which no longer participates in the card scheme.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Retailer Name</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Value (£)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Tesco</p></td><td><p>20,660,480.59</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Asda</p></td><td><p>11,373,929.59</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sainsbury's</p></td><td><p>5,935,535.81</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Morrisons</p></td><td><p>2,528,626.86</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Boots</p></td><td><p>2,478,849.23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Peacock Group</p></td><td><p>333,709.46</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Co-operative Group Food</p></td><td><p>250,074.03</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Food City Halal Market</p></td><td><p>202,813.59</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mothercare</p></td><td><p>39,947.70</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Iceland Foods</p></td><td><p>38,311.88</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Midlands Co-operative</p></td><td><p>22,172.05</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Salvation Army</p></td><td><p>3,544.40</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>British Red Cross</p></td><td><p>3,380.32</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Masala Bazaar</p></td><td><p>330.55</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Holland and Barrett</p></td><td><p>326.68</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Information and training materials are provided to the retailers about the terms and conditions attached to the card, which are reviewed and updated regularly.</p><p>We are aware of some isolated instances where people have been denied purchases, but in the great majority of cases this is because they had insufficient funds on the card to buy the particular items.</p><p>If there is a defect in the card that means it cannot be used, for example because it has been damaged, arrangements are made to issue vouchers.</p><p> </p><p><br></p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL2454 HL2456 HL2458 question first answered 11/11/2014 17:10:19 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

101000

	registered interest
	date	27/10/2014
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what efforts have been made to ensure that staff at retailers who accept the Azure Card are educated about the card’s rules and do not deny card users purchases which they are entitled to make.
	tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
	uin	HL2456
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2014 answer text <p>The Azure card is issued to destitute failed asylum seekers accommodated under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 because they are temporarily unable to leave the United Kingdom.</p><p>The card is updated each week with credit to the value of £35.39 for each person in the household to enable them to buy enough food and other essential items.</p><p>The table below lists the retailers that accept the Azure card and the total amounts spent at each of them since it was introduced. The table includes Peacocks, which no longer participates in the card scheme.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Retailer Name</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Value (£)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Tesco</p></td><td><p>20,660,480.59</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Asda</p></td><td><p>11,373,929.59</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sainsbury's</p></td><td><p>5,935,535.81</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Morrisons</p></td><td><p>2,528,626.86</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Boots</p></td><td><p>2,478,849.23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Peacock Group</p></td><td><p>333,709.46</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Co-operative Group Food</p></td><td><p>250,074.03</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Food City Halal Market</p></td><td><p>202,813.59</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mothercare</p></td><td><p>39,947.70</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Iceland Foods</p></td><td><p>38,311.88</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Midlands Co-operative</p></td><td><p>22,172.05</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Salvation Army</p></td><td><p>3,544.40</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>British Red Cross</p></td><td><p>3,380.32</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Masala Bazaar</p></td><td><p>330.55</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Holland and Barrett</p></td><td><p>326.68</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Information and training materials are provided to the retailers about the terms and conditions attached to the card, which are reviewed and updated regularly.</p><p>We are aware of some isolated instances where people have been denied purchases, but in the great majority of cases this is because they had insufficient funds on the card to buy the particular items.</p><p>If there is a defect in the card that means it cannot be used, for example because it has been damaged, arrangements are made to issue vouchers.</p><p> </p><p><br></p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL2454 HL2455 HL2458 question first answered 11/11/2014 17:10:19 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

101001

	registered interest
	date	27/10/2014
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people have been on support under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 for a period in excess of (1) six months, (2) one year and (3) five years.
	tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
	uin	HL2457
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/11/2014 answer text <p>The information requested is shown in the following table:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="3"><p><strong>Length of time people have been on Section 4 support</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Period on support</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of People</strong></p></td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><p>6 to 12 months</p></td><td><p>684</p></td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><p>1 year to 5 years</p></td><td><p>3013</p></td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><p>5 years or more</p></td><td><p>698</p></td><td> </td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 18/11/2014 15:22:06 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

101002

	registered interest
	date	27/10/2014
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Finance
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the statement by Refugee Action that more than 90 per cent of those on support under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 regularly missed a meal.
	tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
	uin	HL2458
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2014 answer text <p>The Azure card is issued to destitute failed asylum seekers accommodated under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 because they are temporarily unable to leave the United Kingdom.</p><p>The card is updated each week with credit to the value of £35.39 for each person in the household to enable them to buy enough food and other essential items.</p><p>The table below lists the retailers that accept the Azure card and the total amounts spent at each of them since it was introduced. The table includes Peacocks, which no longer participates in the card scheme.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Retailer Name</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Value (£)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Tesco</p></td><td><p>20,660,480.59</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Asda</p></td><td><p>11,373,929.59</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sainsbury's</p></td><td><p>5,935,535.81</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Morrisons</p></td><td><p>2,528,626.86</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Boots</p></td><td><p>2,478,849.23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Peacock Group</p></td><td><p>333,709.46</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Co-operative Group Food</p></td><td><p>250,074.03</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Food City Halal Market</p></td><td><p>202,813.59</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mothercare</p></td><td><p>39,947.70</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Iceland Foods</p></td><td><p>38,311.88</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Midlands Co-operative</p></td><td><p>22,172.05</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Salvation Army</p></td><td><p>3,544.40</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>British Red Cross</p></td><td><p>3,380.32</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Masala Bazaar</p></td><td><p>330.55</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Holland and Barrett</p></td><td><p>326.68</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Information and training materials are provided to the retailers about the terms and conditions attached to the card, which are reviewed and updated regularly.</p><p>We are aware of some isolated instances where people have been denied purchases, but in the great majority of cases this is because they had insufficient funds on the card to buy the particular items.</p><p>If there is a defect in the card that means it cannot be used, for example because it has been damaged, arrangements are made to issue vouchers.</p><p> </p><p><br></p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL2454 HL2455 HL2456 question first answered 11/11/2014 17:10:20 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno