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1545878

	registered interest
	date	28/11/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Identity Cards
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the number of asylum seekers who have been unable to provide identity records due to historic issues with identity registration in their country of origin, including Iraq; and what steps her Department is taking to clarify an asylum seeker's position in those circumstances.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	97661
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2022 answer text <p>The Home Office does not publish case volume information relating to asylum claims involving an absence of identity documents. Where that absence is attributable to historic issues with identity registration in the claimants’ country of origin.</p> answering member constituency Newark answering member printed Robert Jenrick question first answered 01/12/2022 13:58:05 answering member 4320 label Biography information for Robert Jenrick
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1313826

	registered interest
	date	12/05/2021
	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	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of matching the £20 universal credit uplift for people seeking the asylum support allowance.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	883
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2021 answer text <p>Asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute are provided with furnished accommodation with utilities provided free of charge and a weekly cash allowance. The level of the allowance is reviewed each year to ensure it remains sufficient to meet their essential living needs (the legal test). Currently, the standard allowance is £39.63 per week for the asylum seeker and each of any dependants in their household. The allowance is reduced if the individual is accommodated in a full-board facility where food and other essential items are provided free.</p><p>There are no plans to provide an additional £20 or to link the level of the allowance with the level of Universal Credit. Those receiving Universal Credit generally incur expenses asylum seekers are not required to meet, including paying for utilities and travel and other expenses incurred in looking for work.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 17/05/2021 16:36:43 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1383944

	registered interest
	date	01/12/2021
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Refugees: Afghanistan
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the eligibility of Afghan nationals who formerly attended UK universities to be resettled in the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	85393
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/12/2021 answer text <p>The ACRS is not yet open. Officials are working urgently to stand up the remaining elements of the scheme.</p><p>Further information on the eligibility, prioritisation and referral of people for the ACRS is set out in the policy statement published on gov.uk on 13 September, available at <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statement" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statement</a>.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 09/12/2021 16:22:58 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	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

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

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

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

1203354

	registered interest
	date	12/06/2020
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Firearms and Knives: Crime
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what resources she has allocated to (a) researching and (b) tackling the causes of gun and knife-related crimes in (i) Coventry, (ii) the West Midlands and (iii) England.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	59260
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2020 answer text <p>The Government’s Serious Violence Strategy, published in April 2018, sets out our analysis of the trends and drivers behind rises in serious violence including gun and knife crime.</p><p> </p><p>We are clear that the police must have the powers and resources they need to tackle gun and knife crime, wherever it occurs.  This is why we are recruiting 20,000 more police officers over the next three years and why the West Midlands police are receiving £620.4m in funding in 2020/21 – an increase of £49.1m on 2019/20.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the Home Office has committed over £176.5 million over two years to address</p><p>serious violence in the most affected 18 police force areas in England and Wales, which</p><p>includes £104.9 million to pay for a surge in police operational activity, of which £12,601,485 has been allocated to West Midlands police. The remaining £70 million is being invested in multi-agency Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) over two financial years, with £6,740,000 of this going directly to the West Midlands VRU. The VRU brings together police, local government, health and education professionals, community leaders and other key partners to identify the drivers of serious violence and agree a multi-agency response.</p><p> </p><p>In relation to gun crime specifically, the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 has introduced a ban on certain rapid-firing rifles and we are introducing greater regulation of antique firearms to prevent their misuse by criminals. We have also consulted on statutory guidance on firearms licensing to improve standards and the consistency of police licensing decisions, and we have established a multi-agency national firearms threat assessment centre to improve our capability to disrupt the supply and use of illegal firearms by criminals and Organised Crime Groups.</p><p> </p><p>The Offensive Weapons Act 2019 also gives the police more powers to tackle knife crime and will make it more difficult for young people to get hold of knives in the first place. The Act</p><p>introduces Knife Crime Prevention Orders which will help the police to steer those most at risk away from serious violence and knife crime, and we will be legislating to introduce new Serious Violence Reduction Orders to make it easier for the police to stop and search known knife</p><p>carriers.</p><p> </p><p>The Serious Violence Strategy also puts an emphasis on prevention and early intervention. We are investing £200 million through the Youth Endowment Fund to invest in and evaluate early intervention projects and an additional £500 million over five years through the new Youth Investment Fund to build new youth centres, refurbish existing youth facilities, provide mobile facilities for harder to reach areas, and to invest in the youth work profession and frontline services.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 17/06/2020 16:19:29 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1518882

	registered interest
	date	10/10/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Police: Complaints
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made in the Independent Office of Police Conduct investigation announced on 4 July 2022 into allegations of excessive use of force by Metropolitan Police Service officers at a protest over the arrest of a man by immigration officers in Peckham on 11 June 2022.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	58971
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/10/2022 answer text <p>The IOPC carries out its investigations independently of the Government. It provided a published update on the investigation relating to the Peckham protests on its website on 4th July <ins class="ministerial">2022</ins><del class="ministerial">2002</del>, when it also appealed for witnesses. I have notified the IOPC's Director General of this question so that he can respond directly or provide a further update.</p> answering member constituency Horsham answering member printed Jeremy Quin question first answered 13/10/2022 13:08:28 question first ministerially corrected 18/10/2022 11:12:21 answering member 4507 label Biography information for Sir Jeremy Quin previous answer version 22180 answering member constituency Horsham answering member printed Jeremy Quin answering member 4507 label Biography information for Sir Jeremy Quin
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1359835

	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	Firearms: Smuggling
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle gun smuggling across (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	57399
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/10/2021 answer text <p>The Government is committed to tackling the threat posed by trafficking and the misuse of illicit firearms. The UK has some of the toughest firearms controls in the world. We are continuing to reduce the supply and availability of illegal firearms to prevent their use by criminal or terrorist groups in the UK. The Government works closely with law enforcement to protect the public by tackling criminal use of firearms and disrupting illegal supply routes. Our approach is centred around partnership working, securing and enhancing capabilities at the border and reducing diversion from the legal to the illegal market.</p><p> </p><p>For example, the NCA-led Operation Venetic, a sophisticated clampdown on organised criminals which saw international law enforcement agencies working together to infiltrate encrypted messaging platform EncroChat, has seen over 700 arrests for drugs and firearms offences across the UK, including in the West Midlands.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse grouped question UIN 57398 question first answered 25/10/2021 15:36:26 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana