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1362250

registered interest
date	21/10/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Contact Tracing: Travel Requirements
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment criteria were used for the procurement of the UK’s Passenger Locator Form contract.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
uin	60504
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2021 answer text <p>When the requirements for a Passenger Locator Form were established, it was identified it could be delivered within the existing contracts and infrastructure of the Home Office’s online immigration application service, Access UK.</p><p>As such, the form was established reusing the architecture and components already available, allowing for it to be delivered at pace to help combat the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 04/11/2021 14:53:30 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1360597

registered interest
date	18/10/2021
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	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether a person who has recently married a UK national is eligible to apply for the Spouse Visa while their Marriage Visitor Visa is still valid.
tabling member constituency	North Down
tabling member printed	Stephen Farry
uin	58568
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2021 answer text <p>Visitors must leave the UK before applying for another type of permission, including as a spouse. An application may be made outside the UK whilst the marriage visit visa is still valid.</p><p>The applicant should apply in the country in which they are living. Further details on the spouse visa are available here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/partner-spouse" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/partner-spouse</a></p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 26/10/2021 15:37:56 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4856 label Biography information for Stephen Farry

1360661

registered interest
date	18/10/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Visas: Afghanistan
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to assist Afghan nationals seeking to apply for a visa to travel to the UK under existing immigration routes while biometric information cannot be submitted from the British Embassy in Kabul.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	58460
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2021 answer text <p>We recommend people in Afghanistan do not make applications and pay application fees at this time as they will not be considered until biometrics are provided. Biometrics are an essential part of ensuring identity can be confirmed and the performance of key national security related checks.</p><p>The UK is working with international partners to secure safe routes out of Afghanistan as soon as they become available, starting with those in most need.</p><p>Those Afghans who are outside of Afghanistan and able to get to a Visa Application Centre to provide their biometrics can make an application in the usual way.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 27/10/2021 11:05:52 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1360853

registered interest
date	18/10/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Migrant Workers: Care Workers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to treat disabled people who employ live-in carers as approved employers for the purposes of visa sponsorship, so they are able to accept applicants from the EU.
tabling member constituency	St Albans
tabling member printed	Daisy Cooper
uin	58508
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2021 answer text <p>While senior care workers and senior support workers qualifyfor a Skilled Worker visa, they would need to be sponsored by an organisation which holds a Skilled Worker sponsor licence. The Skilled Worker Visa is not limited to EU Nationals, as it allows recruitment on a global basis.</p><p>Individual persons are not eligible to be recognised as sponsors. The sponsorship system is designed to ensure employers fulfil specific duties to confirm those who apply for permission to enter or stay in the UK to work are eligible and will comply with the conditions of their visa.</p><p>Businesses are able to comply with these duties and demonstrate a verifiable track record of operating lawfully in the UK, both within the immigration system and the wider employer regulatory regime, in a way individuals cannot. This approach ensures the integrity of the immigration system and safeguards those who migrate to the UK.</p><p>Outside the Skilled Worker route, employers and individuals can recruit people with general work rights, including the millions of people who have been granted status under the EU Settlement Scheme, Commonwealth citizens with UK Ancestry visas, dependants of those here on our economic routes and those in the UK under our Youth Mobility Schemes. They have full access to the UK labour market and are free to work in the UK in any sector.</p><p>In July, I commissioned the MAC to review the impact of ending free movement on the social care sector. The MAC have issued a call for evidence with stakeholders and we look forward to receiving their report in April 2022.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 26/10/2021 15:34:26 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4769 label Biography information for Daisy Cooper

1359358

registered interest
date	15/10/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Seasonal Workers: Pilot Schemes
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of the budget for the Seasonal Worker Pilot is allocated to international agents working with the providers of that scheme.
tabling member constituency	Norwich South
tabling member printed	Clive Lewis
uin	56388
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/10/2021 answer text <p>The Seasonal Worker pilot scheme is managed by four operators which are not engaged on a contractual basis but are chosen by requests for information managed by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Those organisations selected through the DEFRA process are licensed by the Home Office under its sponsorship regime. The Government does not allocate a budget to their overseas agents.</p><p> </p><p>Each operator manages changes of employment for the workers they sponsor. We monitor this information closely, but it is not directly held on Home Office systems.</p><p> </p><p>The Seasonal Worker pilot scheme is subject to ongoing review activity and we will make an assessment of it prior to a decision whether to extend its provisions into future years. We will publish the 2019 evaluation shortly.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 56377 56381 56384 56386 57190 question first answered 25/10/2021 16:25:06 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4500 label Biography information for Clive Lewis

1359548

registered interest
date	15/10/2021
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, with reference to the EU Settlement Scheme Policy Equality Statement (PES) dated 22 May 2019, published on 7 September 2021, and the section on page 27 on Evidence of abuse by non-EEA nationals, detailing the National Risk Assessment approach towards undocumented non-EEA family members, for what reason that section was redacted from the updated version of the statement; on what date that redaction was made; whether her Department has issued internal guidance to caseworkers on decision making on (a) EEA Family Permits or (b) EUSS applications that reflects the substance of that approach; and whether it is her policy to continue to apply the outcomes of a National Risk Assessment to all EUSS applications.
tabling member constituency	North Down
tabling member printed	Stephen Farry
uin	56477
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/10/2021 answer text <p>The Home Office released on 7 September 2021 an outdated version of the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) Policy Equality Statement (PES) dated 22 May 2019, with redactions, following a Freedom of Information Act request and in compliance with a 9 August 2021 decision of the First-tier Tribunal on Information Rights.</p><p>The redactions implement the Tribunal’s finding the publication of the relevant information would, or would be likely to, prejudice international relations and effective law enforcement and would therefore be detrimental to the public interest.</p><p>The May 2019 PES is an outdated version of the comprehensive PES for the EUSS published in November 2020:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eu-settlement-scheme-policy-equality-statement/policy-equality-statement-eu-settlement-scheme" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eu-settlement-scheme-policy-equality-statement/policy-equality-statement-eu-settlement-scheme</a></p><p>Neither the published PES nor the EUSS or family permit guidance for caseworkers places any reliance on the National Risk Assessment, which is not routinely used in connection with all EUSS applications.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 25/10/2021 16:58:13 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4856 label Biography information for Stephen Farry

1359836

registered interest
date	15/10/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Migrant Workers: Clothing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government plans to add the garment industry to the Shortage Occupation List.
tabling member constituency	Falkirk
tabling member printed	John McNally
uin	57099
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/10/2021 answer text <p>The Skilled Worker route already contains several eligible occupations from this sector, such as weavers, upholsterers, tailors and dressmakers subject to salary and language requirements being met. An occupation at RQF3 or above does not need to be on the Shortage Occupation List to qualify for recruitment under the Skilled Worker Route.</p><p>In their last call for evidence the independent Migration Advisory Committee received evidence from several stakeholders from the garment industry, but they concluded this evidence did not warrant occupations from this sector being added onto the SOL. We will also not be creating more general routes allowing recruitment at or near the minimum wage into this sector via immigration as an alternative to investing in UK based staff and offering them rewarding packages of terms and conditions.</p><p>More generally those business facing recruitment issues should, in the first instance, engage with the Department for Work and Pensions about the support they can offer in seeking recruits and supporting training.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 22/10/2021 16:37:36 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster previous answer version 26365 answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4424 label Biography information for John McNally

1360389

registered interest
date	15/10/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Members: Correspondence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many items of correspondence from hon. Members on (a) asylum applications, (b) visa applications and (c) passport applications were awaiting a response as at 15 October 2021.
tabling member constituency	Dulwich and West Norwood
tabling member printed	Helen Hayes
uin	57202
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2021 answer text <p>The Department works to a target of responding to 95% of MPs’ written correspondence within 20 working days, for all areas of the business, including asylum, visa and passport applications.</p><p> </p><p>Performance has been impacted by a very significant increase in the volume of correspondence received, including items relating to the situation in Afghanistan.</p><p> </p><p>The Department recognises it has not been able to meet service standard in some cases but has implemented an action plan to clear backlogs and drive up performance.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 57200 57201 57203 question first answered 20/10/2021 16:19:35 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4510 label Biography information for Helen Hayes

1360390

registered interest
date	15/10/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Members: Correspondence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average response time for her Department was to respond substantially to hon. Members' correspondence in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021 so far.
tabling member constituency	Dulwich and West Norwood
tabling member printed	Helen Hayes
uin	57203
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2021 answer text <p>The Department works to a target of responding to 95% of MPs’ written correspondence within 20 working days, for all areas of the business, including asylum, visa and passport applications.</p><p> </p><p>Performance has been impacted by a very significant increase in the volume of correspondence received, including items relating to the situation in Afghanistan.</p><p> </p><p>The Department recognises it has not been able to meet service standard in some cases but has implemented an action plan to clear backlogs and drive up performance.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 57200 57201 57202 question first answered 20/10/2021 16:19:35 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4510 label Biography information for Helen Hayes

1360391

registered interest
date	15/10/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Members: Correspondence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to improve its response times in replying to correspondence from hon. Members.
tabling member constituency	Dulwich and West Norwood
tabling member printed	Helen Hayes
uin	57204
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/10/2021 answer text <p>The Department works to a target of responding to 95% of MPs written correspondence within 20 working days. Performance has been impacted by a very significant increase in the volume of correspondence received following the Afghanistan crisis.</p><p>The Department recognises it has not been able to meet its service standard in some cases, but has implemented an action plan, which includes recruiting additional staff, to clear backlogs and drive up performance.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 25/10/2021 14:55:38 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4510 label Biography information for Helen Hayes