Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label attachment file name title
tabling member	label

Search

1204725

registered interest
date	17/06/2020
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	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 during the covid-19 outbreak to improve the (a) provision and (b) accessibility of Government guidance and information on asylum to people seeking asylum.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
uin	60876
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2020 answer text <p>In March, we set up a dedicated engagement channel with key stakeholders to cover the impact of Covid-19 on asylum and resettlement, and to ensure that the necessary guidance and information was reaching asylum seekers across the UK. The British Red Cross were nominated by the sector as the single point of contact; officials speak to them on a regular basis and calls are often accompanied by written updates, which the British Red Cross share with the wider sector, and onto asylum seekers. We have also set up a similar engagement channel with the Strategic Migration Partnership, which also includes a weekly call and regular written updates.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Our liaison with British Red Cross as a single point of contact has successfully ensured that asylum seekers have the information they require in recent months. We are now in the process of drafting additional guidance, which will be published on GOV.UK, on asylum interviewing and decision-making during the period in which our operations are still affected by the Covid-19 outbreak in the UK. This will provide greater provision of information to asylum seekers.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 22/06/2020 15:51:24 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1204726

registered interest
date	17/06/2020
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	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been waiting more than six months for an asylum decision; and if she will grant those people the right to work and access education.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
uin	60877
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2020 answer text <p>The Home Office publishes data on asylum applications in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’ (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release). Data on the number of asylum applications awaiting an initial decision or further review are published in table Asy_D03 of the asylum and resettlement detailed datasets (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets). Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to the year ending September 2019. Additionally, the Home Office publishes a high-level overview of the data in the ‘summary tables’ (attached). The ‘contents’ sheet contains an overview of all available data on asylum and resettlement.</p><p>Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’ (https://www.gov.uk/search/research-and-statistics?content_store_document_type=upcoming_statistics&amp;organisations%5B%5D=home-office&amp;order=release-date-oldest).</p><p>Asylum seekers can work in the UK if their claim has been outstanding for 12 months, through no fault of their own. Those allowed to work are restricted to jobs on the Shortage Occupation List, which is published by the Home Office and based on expert advice from the Migration Advisory Committee.</p><p> </p><p>Asylum seeker right to work is a complex issue. A review of the policy is ongoing, and we are considering the evidence put forward on the issue.</p><p> </p><p>There is nothing in the Immigration Rules to prevent asylum seekers studying. However, asylum-seekers who wish to access higher education courses can expect to be charged the full cost of their course by the university concerned.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 22/06/2020 15:54:38 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp attachment 1 file name Copy of asylum-summary-sep-2019-tables.xlsx title Asylum summary tables
tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1204727

registered interest
date	17/06/2020
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	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been waiting more than 12 months for an asylum decision; and if she will grant those people Discretionary Leave to Remain.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
uin	60878
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2020 answer text <p>The Home Office does not publish data on the number of people waiting for more than 12 months for an asylum decision.</p><p> </p><p>The latest Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release, on data to the year ending March 2020, can be accessed at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release</p><p> </p><p>Table Asy D03 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’ contains information on the number of asylum applications awaiting an initial decision or further review and are published in. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>All asylum claims are carefully considered on their individual merits on the evidence available to the decision maker. We are committed to ensuring that asylum claims are considered without unnecessary delay, so that those who need protection are granted as soon as possible.</p><p> </p><p>Discretionary Leave (DL) is granted outside the Immigration Rules in accordance with published Home Office policy. DL covers those few individuals who do not qualify for any leave under the Rules, but where there are exceptional or compassionate reasons for allowing them to remain in the UK; as such, it is intended to be used sparingly and decisions are made on a case-by-case basis. Delays in decision making occur for a number of reasons, some of which are outside of the Home Office’s control, and it would generally not be appropriate to grant DL under these circumstances.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 22/06/2020 15:55:54 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1204728

registered interest
date	17/06/2020
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	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what feedback mechanism her Department has put in place for asylum seekers to communicate how well the Department has met their needs throughout their application process; and what recent assessment her Department has made of the quality of the support it provides to asylum seekers.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
uin	60879
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2020 answer text <p>UKVI uses feedback from complaints, reports and audits, surveys and customer focus groups to make sure that we are continually improving the service we provide to those who seek asylum in the UK.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>UKVI work closely with our key partners and stakeholders to seek and share this feedback to identify ways in which we can improve the quality of experience of people seeking asylum in the UK.</p><p> </p><p>We have recently set up a Customer Experience Management Team, based across the UK, who will work closely on a local level with stakeholders, to identify key areas to improve the overall experience for people seeking asylum in the UK.</p><p> </p><p>Asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute are provided with free accommodation and a weekly cash allowance to cover their other essential living needs. With effect from 15 June, the allowance was raised from £37.75 to £39.60, an increase of around 5%. The increase is significantly higher than general inflation, which Office of National Statistics data shows was only 0.8% in the 12 months period to April 2020. Food inflation over the same period was only 1.4%. Asylum seekers also receive free NHS healthcare and free education for their children.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 22/06/2020 15:56:54 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1204880

registered interest
date	17/06/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Visas: Musicians
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Australians used the Tier 5 visa route in 2019.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Kemptown
tabling member printed	Lloyd Russell-Moyle
uin	60844
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2020 answer text <p>The Home Office publishes data on Tier 5 visas in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’ (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release).</p><p> </p><p>Data on grants of Tier 5 visas by nationality are published in table Vis_D02 of the entry clearance detailed datasets (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/managed-migration-datasets#entry-clearance-visas-granted-outside-the-uk).</p><p> </p><p>Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to year ending March 2020. Additionally, the Home Office publishes a high-level overview of the data in the entry clearance summary tables (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-march-2020/list-of-tables#entry-clearance-visas). The ‘contents’ sheet contains an overview of all available data on entry clearance visas.</p><p> </p><p>Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’ (https://www.gov.uk/search/research-and-statistics?keywords=immigration&amp;content_store_document_type=upcoming_statistics&amp;organisations%5B%5D=home-office&amp;order=relevance).</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 22/06/2020 16:13:37 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4615 label Biography information for Lloyd Russell-Moyle

1204881

registered interest
date	17/06/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Visas: Working Holidays
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many UK citizens travelled to Australia under the Working Holiday Visa in 2019.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Kemptown
tabling member printed	Lloyd Russell-Moyle
uin	60845
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2020 answer text <p>The Home Department does not currently hold this information. UK nationals’ usage of Australia’s working holiday provision is provided on an annual basis by the Australian Home Affairs department.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 22/06/2020 15:50:26 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4615 label Biography information for Lloyd Russell-Moyle

1204885

registered interest
date	17/06/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Home Office: Energy
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much energy was used by her Department's buildings in (a) 2020 to date and (b) each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Kingston and Surbiton
tabling member printed	Sir Edward Davey
uin	60649
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2020 answer text <p>The amount of energy used by the Home Office in each of the last five years is as follows:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2015-16 </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2016-17 </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2017-18 </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2018-19 </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2019-20 </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Energy (MWh)</p></td><td><p>128,067</p></td><td><p>132,752</p></td><td><p>124,560</p></td><td><p>114,134</p></td><td><p>115,858</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Data is not yet available for any part of 2020-21 as this is collated quarterly in arrears.</p><p> </p><p>The department is committed to reducing its carbon emissions on a trajectory to Net Zero by 2050 or sooner; and has reduced its total emissions by 55% by 2019-20 compared to 2009-10.</p> answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire question first answered 22/06/2020 15:53:45 answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire
tabling member	188 label Biography information for Ed Davey

1204926

registered interest
date	17/06/2020
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	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 8 June 2020 to Question 53418 on British National (Overseas): Visas, whether the arrangements to extend visa rights for British National (Overseas) passport holders will also apply to the dependants of those passport holders.
tabling member constituency	Wigan
tabling member printed	Lisa Nandy
uin	60750
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2020 answer text <p>The UK will continue to defend the rights &amp; freedoms of the people of Hong Kong.</p><p> </p><p>Should China push ahead and impose national security legislation on Hong Kong then we will provide a generous offer to BN(O)s of a bespoke immigration route providing unrestricted access to work and study with a pathway to apply for citizenship.</p><p> </p><p>We are working closely with the Foreign &amp; Commonwealth Office and domestic departments on the offer to British Nationals (Overseas) and will set out more detail in due course.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 22/06/2020 16:11:43 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4082 label Biography information for Lisa Nandy

1204274

registered interest
date	16/06/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Immigration: Hong Kong
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the extension from six months to 12 months of the rights of BN(O) passport holders to work in the UK in the event that China imposes its national security law on Hong Kong will be conditional on having a sponsor and a job offer that meets a minimum-salary threshold.
tabling member constituency	Aberavon
tabling member printed	Stephen Kinnock
uin	59784
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2020 answer text <p>The UK will continue to defend the rights &amp; freedoms of the people of Hong Kong. Should China push ahead and impose national security legislation on Hong Kong then we will provide a generous offer to BN(O)s of a bespoke immigration route providing unrestricted access to work and study with a pathway to apply for citizenship.</p><p> </p><p>We are working closely with the Foreign &amp; Commonwealth Office and domestic departments on the offer to British Nationals (Overseas) and will set out more detail in due course.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 59785 59786 59787 question first answered 22/06/2020 16:08:01 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4359 label Biography information for Stephen Kinnock

1204281

registered interest
date	16/06/2020
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	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, under the terms of the Government's offer to extend the rights of BN(O) passport holders to work in the UK from six months to 12 months should China's national security law be imposed on Hong Kong, for how long will BN(O) passport holders need to be resident in the UK before they can apply for citizenship.
tabling member constituency	Aberavon
tabling member printed	Stephen Kinnock
uin	59785
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2020 answer text <p>The UK will continue to defend the rights &amp; freedoms of the people of Hong Kong. Should China push ahead and impose national security legislation on Hong Kong then we will provide a generous offer to BN(O)s of a bespoke immigration route providing unrestricted access to work and study with a pathway to apply for citizenship.</p><p> </p><p>We are working closely with the Foreign &amp; Commonwealth Office and domestic departments on the offer to British Nationals (Overseas) and will set out more detail in due course.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 59784 59786 59787 question first answered 22/06/2020 16:08:01 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4359 label Biography information for Stephen Kinnock