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1130996

	registered interest
	date	10/06/2019
	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	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to identify the age of people placed in care facilities with minors when requesting asylum.
	tabling member constituency	South Antrim
	tabling member printed	Paul Girvan
	uin	262442
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2019 answer text <p>Where clear and credible documentary evidence of age is not available, criteria including physical appearance and demeanour are used as part of the process to assess whether a person is under 18. The Home Office will treat a person claiming to be a child as an adult only where their physical appearance and demeanour very strongly suggest they are 25 years of age or over.</p><p>When there is doubt about an individual’s claim to be a child, Home Office policy is to refer them to the relevant local authority to carry out a careful “Merton compliant” age assessment, which must be carried out by two social workers and must adhere to guidelines set out by the Courts. Whilst this assessment is ongoing, the local authority or Health and Social Care Trust looking after the individual remains responsible for their care arrangements and the safeguarding of other children in their care.</p><p>The Home Office keeps its policies and processes under review and we remain committed to striking the right balance between ensuring that children who claim asylum are appropriately supported and maintaining the integrity of the asylum system by preventing adults being treated as children.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 17/06/2019 12:09:06 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4633 label Biography information for Paul Girvan

1130869

	registered interest
	date	10/06/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Translation Services
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria his Department uses when assessing asylum applications in cases where a substantive interview with an applicant has not been able to take place due to the unavailability of a translator for that interview.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	262414
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/06/2019 answer text <p>Where a translator is unavailable to carry out a substantive asylum interview, the Home Office will look to rebook the interview when a translator for the preferred language is next available.</p><p>On the rare occasion where we are unable to source a translator to carry out the substantive asylum interview, we would seek to use a detailed witness statement provided by the applicant, to decide the asylum claim.</p><p>The Home Office will continue to explore and act upon potential interpreter recruitment avenues, both regionally and nationally, for all languages. Alongside the ongoing recruitment campaign, we will continue to work with stakeholders in assessing demand and have in place contingencies to ensure the available national resource is utilised as effectively as possible.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 13/06/2019 11:39:43 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1131086

	registered interest
	date	10/06/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Deportation: Democratic Republic of Congo
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of whether it is safe to deport nationals of the Democratic Republic of Congo to that country.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	262356
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/06/2019 answer text <p>We only return those who are without a legal right to remain in the UK, including foreign national offenders, when we and, where the individual has exercised a right of appeal, the courts deem it is safe to do so, on a case by case basis.</p><p>We are currently reviewing our assessment of risk faced by rejected asylum seekers and foreign national offenders on return to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). An updated country policy and information note setting out our position will be published in due course.The Home Office has regular discussions with the Foreign Office on a range of issues and has on a number of occasions discussed the subject of returns to the DRC to establish as full an assessment of the situation as possible.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes grouped question UIN 262357 262358 question first answered 13/06/2019 11:35:16 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1131087

	registered interest
	date	10/06/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Deportation: Democratic Republic of Congo
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the safety of nationals of the Democratic Republic of Congo who are returned to that country.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	262357
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/06/2019 answer text <p>We only return those who are without a legal right to remain in the UK, including foreign national offenders, when we and, where the individual has exercised a right of appeal, the courts deem it is safe to do so, on a case by case basis.</p><p>We are currently reviewing our assessment of risk faced by rejected asylum seekers and foreign national offenders on return to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). An updated country policy and information note setting out our position will be published in due course.The Home Office has regular discussions with the Foreign Office on a range of issues and has on a number of occasions discussed the subject of returns to the DRC to establish as full an assessment of the situation as possible.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes grouped question UIN 262356 262358 question first answered 13/06/2019 11:35:17 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1131088

	registered interest
	date	10/06/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Deportation: Democratic Republic of Congo
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions his officials have had with officials in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on issuing advice on the safety of returning nationals of the Democratic Republic of Congo to that country.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	262358
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/06/2019 answer text <p>We only return those who are without a legal right to remain in the UK, including foreign national offenders, when we and, where the individual has exercised a right of appeal, the courts deem it is safe to do so, on a case by case basis.</p><p>We are currently reviewing our assessment of risk faced by rejected asylum seekers and foreign national offenders on return to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). An updated country policy and information note setting out our position will be published in due course.The Home Office has regular discussions with the Foreign Office on a range of issues and has on a number of occasions discussed the subject of returns to the DRC to establish as full an assessment of the situation as possible.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes grouped question UIN 262356 262357 question first answered 13/06/2019 11:35:17 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1131709

	registered interest
	date	12/06/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Immigration: EU Nationals
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will take steps to ensure that all of the EU Settlement Scheme application process is available in every European language.
	tabling member constituency	Newport East
	tabling member printed	Jessica Morden
	uin	263778
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2019 answer text <p>We have no plans to make the application process available in every European language. The application for the EU Settlement Scheme is simple and straight forward.</p><p>The application process has been tested with users of different abilities and we have conducted research with those who do not read English. We have also published the scheme guidance in 26 different European languages.</p><p>In addition, there are now over 300 assisted digital centres where applicants can be supported through their application and we have awarded up to £9 million funding for 57 voluntary and community sector organisations across the UK to help reach more vulnerable or at risk EU citizens and their family members directly.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 17/06/2019 10:14:06 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	1548 label Biography information for Jessica Morden

1131050

	registered interest
	date	10/06/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Refugees: Children
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of statements reportedly made by the French authorities that the nine unaccompanied children who are being processed under the Dubs scheme will be the last children to be processed before the allocation for the Dubs scheme is reached.
	tabling member constituency	Walthamstow
	tabling member printed	Stella Creasy
	uin	262362
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/06/2019 answer text <p>We continue to work closely with participating States – France, Greece and Italy - to fulfil our commitments under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016. Over 220 children were transferred to the UK under section 67 when the Calais camp was cleared in late 2016.</p><p>The UK asked France to refer a further 100 unaccompanied children to the UK for transfer under section 67. Since then we have been making further progress with participating States to refer and transfer more eligible children to move closer to fulfilling the commitment to transfer 480 children.</p><p>We will publish further data on the transfers once we have fulfilled our commitments.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 13/06/2019 15:44:28 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4088 label Biography information for Stella Creasy

1131048

	registered interest
	date	10/06/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Immigration: Biometrics
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2017 to Question 257442 on Biometrics: Applications, what the timeframe is for (a) reviewing SSL's performance against its key performance indicators and (b) reporting that performance.
	tabling member constituency	Warley
	tabling member printed	John Spellar
	uin	262238
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/06/2019 answer text <p>UKVI regularly monitor Sopra Steria Limited’s (SSL) performance against set Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).Sopra Steria are required, under the contract, to report on their performance on a monthly basis. These performance reports are reviewed by UKVI and form the basis of monthly performance conversations between the two parties. The information within the reports is used to drive improvements to service standards in line with contractual requirements. <br>. <br>SSL’s performance against these KPIs is commercially sensitive and therefore we are unable to disclose any detailed information.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 13/06/2019 15:55:09 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1131342

	registered interest
	date	11/06/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Entry Clearances: Applications
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to improve the level of service provided by Sopra Steria for in-country visa services at UK visa and citizenship application service centres and enhanced service points across the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	263146
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2019 answer text <p>UKVI officials meet with Sopra Steria Limited (SSL) on a regular basis to review performance and drive improvements to service standards. We are aware that there are issues with capacity at the moment which means customers might not always be able to book an appointment at their earliest convenience.</p><p>We are working with SSL as a matter of priority on a number of actions to increase the capacity at service points and we expect availability to increase shortly. These measures include; four additional enhanced service points in Sheffield, Leeds, Manchester and Edinburgh over the last month, increasing appointments offered to customers across a number of existing sites and reducing the cost of out of hours appointments.</p><p>Planning is underway with Sopra Steria and we are looking at a range of options to ensure that there is sufficient capacity within the service to meet demand during the student Autumn surge period.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 17/06/2019 10:29:16 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1131344

	registered interest
	date	11/06/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Visas: Applications
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to ensure that the UK Visa and Citizenship Application Service centres and enhanced service points across the UK have sufficient capacity to handle the increase in demand that will result from the student surge period in September 2019.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	263147
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2019 answer text <p>UKVI officials meet with Sopra Steria Limited (SSL) on a regular basis to review performance and drive improvements to service standards. We are aware that there are issues with capacity at the moment which means customers might not always be able to book an appointment at their earliest convenience.</p><p>We are working with SSL as a matter of priority on a number of actions to increase the capacity at service points and we expect availability to increase shortly. These measures include; four additional enhanced service points in Sheffield, Leeds, Manchester and Edinburgh over the last month, increasing appointments offered to customers across a number of existing sites and reducing the cost of out of hours appointments.</p><p>Planning is underway with Sopra Steria and we are looking at a range of options to ensure that there is sufficient capacity within the service to meet demand during the student Autumn surge period.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 17/06/2019 10:30:43 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield