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1126685

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Eritrea
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many asylum claims were made in each of the past three years by Eritreans; whether more illegal migrants were smuggled into the UK last year from Eritrea than from any other country; and what assessment they have made of religious persecution in Eritrea as a driver of Eritrean migration.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL15702
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2019 answer text <p>The Home Office publishes data on the number of applications for asylum in the UK, broken down by nationality, in its quarterly Immigration Statistics release. The number of applications made by Eritreans in each year are available in table as_01 (Main Applicants; Asylum, volume 1).</p><p>Latest edition available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/781299/asylum1-dec-2018-tables.ods" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/781299/asylum1-dec-2018-tables.ods</a></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> Total applications </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2016</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>1,230</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2017</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>1,085</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2018</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2,158</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The Home Office is unable to report on whether more illegal migrants were smuggled in to the UK last year from Eritrea than from any other country, as the method of entry for those who entered the UK clandestinely and subsequently claimed asylum, is recorded on individual Home Office files and to obtain this information would require a manual trawl and could only be obtained at disproportionate costs.</p><p>All asylum and human rights applications from Eritrean nationals are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. Each individual assessment is made against the background of the latest available country of origin information and any relevant caselaw. The <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eritrea-country-policy-and-information-notes" target="_blank">Country Policy and Information Note Eritrea: Religious groups</a> published in February 2018 (available on Gov.uk) outlines our position.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford attachment 1 file name Eritrea_-_Religious_Groups_-_CPIN_-_v3.0.pdf title Eritea Religious Groups 2 file name Asylum1 -Dec 2018 Tables.xlsx title Asylum 1 - Dec 2018 Tables question first answered 24/05/2019 13:38:16 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1126510

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Aviation: EU Nationals
	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 ensure that (a) clear and (b) up to date information is provided to airlines operating in the UK on changes to visa requirements for EU citizens and their families visiting the UK after the UK leaves the EU.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	254117
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2019 answer text <p>The Home Office works with carriers through the Carrier Liaison network, through regular stakeholder engagement groups, and through Airlines UK and the Board of Airline Representatives UK.</p><p>We have regular communication with the International Air Transport Association to ensure their Timatic tool, used by airlines and travel agents to verify passenger travel document requirements, is clear and up-to-date with the UK’s visa requirements.</p><p>We have also launched a passenger information campaign which includes an information toolkit for stakeholders including carriers. Information on visiting the UK after Brexit is also publicly available on GOV.UK <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/visiting-the-uk-after-brexit" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/visiting-the-uk-after-brexit</a></p><p>We will continue to work with the carriers on introducing and communicating the requirements of the future system in advance of implementation.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 20/05/2019 16:13:16 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1126524

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Borders: Organised Crime
	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 prevent the corruption of public officials at the UK's borders by those involved in organised crime.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	254119
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2019 answer text <p>The Government recognises the corrosive effects of corruption at the border in both the 2017-2022 Anti-Corruption Strategy and the 2018 Serious and Organised Crime Strategy. As committed in the Anti-Corruption Strategy, the Home Office is leading on a comprehensive work programme to understand, manage and mitigate this vulnerability. Alongside Strategy implementation, law enforcement agencies continue to target the organised crime groups who use corruption, collusion and coercion to enable criminality at our airports and ports.</p><p>Border Force itself is working to address the risk, including raising staff awareness of their vulnerability to attempts by Organised Crime Gangs to compromise their integrity. Measures are being put in place to encourage staff to declare such attempts or any potentially compromising developments in their personal lives, so they can be protected and mitigations put in place. Border Force is also improving intelligence and information sharing with other agencies, to ensure corruption risks are identified and that any insider threat is addressed at the earliest opportunity, working with the NCA to ensure an effective and robust response.</p> answering member constituency Wyre and Preston North answering member printed Mr Ben Wallace question first answered 20/05/2019 15:12:43 answering member 1539 label Biography information for Mr Ben Wallace
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1126531

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	CCTV: Biometrics
	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 facial recognition in CCTV.
	tabling member constituency	Haltemprice and Howden
	tabling member printed	Mr David Davis
	uin	254130
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>Facial recognition is a fast evolving area of technology with the potential to streamline identity verification and authentication processes across Government and the private sector.</p><p>Its performance is dependent on a number of variables, from the quality of the images, environmental factors, the specific algorithm used, the thresholds or risk profile applied and many other factors. Possible matches produced by LFR systems are always checked by a human operator before deciding what, if any, action to take.</p> answering member constituency Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner answering member printed Mr Nick Hurd question first answered 22/05/2019 16:11:43 answering member 1561 label Biography information for Mr Nick Hurd
	tabling member	373 label Biography information for Sir David Davis

1126698

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Companies: British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to introduce a public register of beneficial ownership for (1) the Crown Dependencies, and (2) other tax havens for which the UK has responsibility.
	tabling member printed	Lord Harries of Pentregarth
	uin	HL15715
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2019 answer text <p>It is important to note that the Crown Dependencies are self-governing jurisdictions with their own legislative assemblies, administrative, fiscal and legal systems and courts of law. They have confirmed they will develop public registers of company beneficial ownership once it has been established as a global norm.</p><p>In October 2018 the UK Government launched an international beneficial ownership transparency campaign to shift global norms by encouraging and supporting more countries to implement free to access and publicly available company beneficial ownership registers by 2023. In line with this campaign, the UK Government will encourage the Crown Dependencies to voluntarily introduce measures to improve the transparency of their company ownership.</p><p>Similarly, the Overseas Territories are self-governing jurisdictions. However, in accordance with the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018, the UK Government will prepare an Order in Council by the end of 2020 requiring all Overseas Territories to have fully functioning publicly accessible registers in place by the end of 2023. The UK Government will work consensually with the Overseas Territories on introducing publicly accessible registers, which includes through technical workshops.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 24/05/2019 12:25:21 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	3813 label Biography information for Lord Harries of Pentregarth

1126717

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Deportation: China
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government on what grounds Wen Li (Jaiwen Li), who is reported to be held at Brook House immigration removal centre, is being deported to China; and what assessment they have made of any potential risks to him in China.
	tabling member printed	Lord Morrow
	uin	HL15734
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2019 answer text <p>We do not routinely comment on individual cases. The UK has a proud history of granting asylum to those who need our protection and each case is assessed on its merits and individuals have the right to appeal to an independent immigration court.</p><p>Where a decision has been made that a person does not require international protection, removal is only enforced when we and the courts conclude that it is safe to do so, with a safe route of return. We monitor the situation in countries of origin and update our positions regularly and make decisions on returns on a case by case.</p><p>Guidance used by UK Visas and Immigration to make decisions on asylum and human rights applications is published and can be found on gov.uk</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 24/05/2019 12:27:32 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	3795 label Biography information for Lord Morrow

1126561

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Home Office: Sick Leave
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months; what proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in his Department; and what the cost was to his Department of officials taking sick leave over that period.
	tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
	tabling member printed	Tom Brake
	uin	254070
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2019 answer text <p>The number of staff in the Home Office who took sickness absence due to mental health issues in the 12 months to 30 April 2019; the proportion of the total sick absence that this comprises; and the cost to the Department of sick absence due to mental ill health during that period is set out in the accompanying table. These absences include those relating to stress, as well as other mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. These conditions can be triggered by various factors.</p><p>We are committed to breaking down barriers and reducing stigma for employees living with mental health conditions. We aim to equip managers to recognise and address stress in the workplace and encourage employees to talk to their managers about mental health issues so that they can access help and support at the earliest stage.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 24/05/2019 13:44:59 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins attachment 1 file name PQ 254070 data v2.xlsx title Table - PQ 254070
	tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake

1126466

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2019
	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 his Department will manually check for a system error where an application to the EU Settlement Scheme receives a wholly or partially unsuccessful result from the automated residency check.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	254182
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2019 answer text <p>As set out in the MoUs with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), if the automated check is unsuccessful or the person cannot be found during the initial check made during the online application, a Home Office caseworker may instigate the check again following the submission of the application if there is reason to believe a successful match is possible and it will benefit the applicant.</p><p>Information on how the automated checks calculate periods of UK residence as well as the tax and benefit records that are included in the automated checks has been published on gov.uk and can be found here: <br><a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/eu-settlement-scheme-uk-tax-and-benefits-records-automated-check" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/eu-settlement-scheme-uk-tax-and-benefits-records-automated-check</a>.</p><p>Page 27 of the published MoU with HMRC indicates this agreement will be in place until April 2026. The date of April 2026 was considered appropriate to account for all applications to be received under the scheme – including those granted pre-settled status at first application with limited UK residence and would therefore need several years more time in the UK before qualifying for settled status. The exchange of data will only occur when an application is received under the scheme. The MoU is also subject to biennial review to ensure it remains accurate and fit for purpose.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes grouped question UIN 254183 254185 254186 question first answered 20/05/2019 10:14:54 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1126467

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2019
	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, with reference to page 21 of the Memorandum of Understanding between HMRC and the his Department on the EU Settlement Scheme, for what reason the exchange of data between HMRC and his Department will continue until April 2026.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	254183
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2019 answer text <p>As set out in the MoUs with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), if the automated check is unsuccessful or the person cannot be found during the initial check made during the online application, a Home Office caseworker may instigate the check again following the submission of the application if there is reason to believe a successful match is possible and it will benefit the applicant.</p><p>Information on how the automated checks calculate periods of UK residence as well as the tax and benefit records that are included in the automated checks has been published on gov.uk and can be found here: <br><a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/eu-settlement-scheme-uk-tax-and-benefits-records-automated-check" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/eu-settlement-scheme-uk-tax-and-benefits-records-automated-check</a>.</p><p>Page 27 of the published MoU with HMRC indicates this agreement will be in place until April 2026. The date of April 2026 was considered appropriate to account for all applications to be received under the scheme – including those granted pre-settled status at first application with limited UK residence and would therefore need several years more time in the UK before qualifying for settled status. The exchange of data will only occur when an application is received under the scheme. The MoU is also subject to biennial review to ensure it remains accurate and fit for purpose.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes grouped question UIN 254182 254185 254186 question first answered 20/05/2019 10:14:55 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1126468

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2019
	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, whether the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration will have a remit to inspect (a) HMRC and (b) the Department for Work and Pensions in respect of the processing of the data of applicants to the EU Settlement Scheme.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	254184
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2019 answer text <p>The UK Borders Act 2007 (section 48) already allows the Independent Chief Inspector to inspect the efficiency and effectiveness of services provided by any person acting in relation to the discharge of immigration, nationality, asylum and customs functions.</p><p>The EU Settlement Scheme is primarily an immigration regime. The Independent Chief Inspector, therefore, already has the necessary powers to inspect activities undertaken by the Department for Work and Pensions and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, in support of the EU Settlement Scheme application process.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 20/05/2019 10:13:03 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield