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1381066

	registered interest
	date	22/11/2021
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Immigration: 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 she is taking to ensure the equity of her Department's decisions to grant indefinite leave to remain to Afghans and spouses of British citizens.
	tabling member constituency	Falkirk
	tabling member printed	John McNally
	uin	79404
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2021 answer text <p>All decisions to grant indefinite leave to those evacuated from Afghanistan, including the spouses of British citizens, are taken on an individual basis and with consideration to the specific circumstances of the case.</p><p>These cohorts are treated more generously than other family members of British citizens because of the unique circumstances of the evacuation, alongside the need to quickly move people to safety without being able to assess their ability to meet the normal Immigration Rules.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 30/11/2021 11:22:24 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4424 label Biography information for John McNally

1490191

	registered interest
	date	18/07/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Mental Health
	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 protect the mental health of vulnerable asylum seekers.
	tabling member constituency	Falkirk
	tabling member printed	John McNally
	uin	38700
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2022 answer text <p>Asylum seekers have full access to the NHS upon arrival in the UK.</p><p>All Home Office staff and contractors engaging with asylum seekers are trained to adopt a risk-based approach towards potential indications of vulnerability and to refer relevant cases onto the Safeguarding Hub, a dedicated resource assigned to identifying and safeguarding vulnerable asylum seekers.</p><p>The Safeguarding Hub works closely with the statutory agencies to signpost vulnerable customers for support with their health and social care needs.</p><p>The Government is planning to provide an additional £2.3 billion a year for mental health services by 2023/24, the largest increase in mental health funding in NHS history.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 25/07/2022 14:37:01 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4424 label Biography information for John McNally

1461939

	registered interest
	date	11/05/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	HM Passport Office: Standards
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what comparative assessment she has made of the efficiency of each HM Passport Office branch for processing passport applications and renewals; and what steps her Department is taking to improve efficiency in branches that are comparatively less efficient.
	tabling member constituency	Falkirk
	tabling member printed	John McNally
	uin	821
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/05/2022 answer text <p>Due to differences in some of the work undertaken at individual passport offices, such as more complex international work, productivity will vary at a local level. However, Her Majesty’s Passport Office has a range of tried and tested arrangements in place to monitor performance at local and national level, which helps to ensure that there is no disparity in the handling of like-for-like cases across each site.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 19/05/2022 16:33:44 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4424 label Biography information for John McNally

1490189

	registered interest
	date	18/07/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Refugees: Temporary Accommodation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of a scheme allowing refugees to temporarily stay with members of the public while awaiting permanent dispersal.
	tabling member constituency	Falkirk
	tabling member printed	John McNally
	uin	38699
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/08/2022 answer text <p>For those claiming asylum in the UK, we support and house those would otherwise be destitute whilst they await a decision on their claim.</p><p> </p><p>We have no plans to house those who require our accommodation in this way with members of the public. Where someone is then subsequently granted refugee status, whilst in the United Kingdom, we would provide advice to them on onward accommodation and Local Authorities would provide housing advice and support.</p><p> </p><p>For those who are granted refugee status abroad and then resettled in the UK, our Community Sponsorship Scheme enables civil society - including friends, charities and faith groups - to directly support families through both our UK Resettlement Scheme and now the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme. Those brought to the UK under Community Sponsorship must have accommodation arranged in advance.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 26/08/2022 15:31:14 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4424 label Biography information for John McNally

1469798

	registered interest
	date	13/06/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Housing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her target date is for the completion of her full dispersal accommodation plan for asylum seekers.
	tabling member constituency	Falkirk
	tabling member printed	John McNally
	uin	16996
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2022 answer text <p>On 13 April the Minister for Safe and Legal Migration announced the Home Office would move, with immediate effect, to a policy of full dispersal for the procurement asylum accommodation. We are working in partnership with local authorities to develop full dispersal plans down to a region/nation level. Whilst these plans are being developed procurement under this policy has commenced and any properties procured during the interim period will be accounted for in region/nations plans. This process is being informed by the informal consultation which was launched on 9 May and closes on 1 July.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 21/06/2022 16:43:31 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4424 label Biography information for John McNally

1463057

	registered interest
	date	16/05/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Visas: Russia
	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 impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Russian citizens who are in the process of applying for UK Visas.
	tabling member constituency	Falkirk
	tabling member printed	John McNally
	uin	2526
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/06/2022 answer text <p>Part of the government’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been to issue more than 107,000 visas to Ukrainians seeking to come to the UK under the Ukraine Family Scheme and the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme. This has inevitably had an impact on visa applications from other nationalities coming through normal visa routes.</p><p>As a result of the current conflict in Ukraine, applications from Russian nationals to enter the United Kingdom are subject to additional checks. Russia is also subject to sanctions which may impact on the ability of individuals to pay for certain services and a visa will not be granted if the purpose of the travel to the UK would be in breach of them.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 08/06/2022 15:18:34 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster previous answer version 2781 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

1489665

	registered interest
	date	15/07/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Temporary Accommodation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department makes an assessment of the (a) location and (b) cost of temporary accommodation when determining the order in which asylum seekers in that accommodation are given interviews.
	tabling member constituency	Falkirk
	tabling member printed	John McNally
	uin	37513
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/07/2022 answer text <p>The Home Office do not make an assessment of the location or cost of temporary accommodation when determining the order in which asylum seekers are given interviews; our usual tasking priorities are followed.</p><p>We are currently concentrating on deciding older claims, cases with acute vulnerability and those in receipt of the greatest level of support, including Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children. Additionally, we are prioritising cases where an individual has already received a decision, but a reconsideration is required.</p><p> </p><p>Asylum Operations have also introduced a digital interviewing capability as part of the wider Home Office digital transformation programme. This enables us to maximise our capacity to conduct interviews in locations across the UK and progress cases in a more efficient and cost-effective way.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 28/07/2022 10:22:31 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4424 label Biography information for John McNally

1472580

	registered interest
	date	22/06/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Refugees: Hotels
	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 10 June 2022 to Question 9037 on Refugees: Hotels and Rented Housing, with reference to refugees being accommodated in hotels, whether her Department has set a target for the (a) number of asylum seekers to be hosted in hotels at any one time and (b) date for completing any necessary reduction to meet that target.
	tabling member constituency	Falkirk
	tabling member printed	John McNally
	uin	23322
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2022 answer text <p>The Home Office does not have a target for the number of asylum seekers who should be housed in hotels.</p><p>Our aim is to eliminate the use of hotel accommodation as contingency accommodation and we are working with Local Authorities and our Commercial Partners to do so.</p><p>This includes moving to a system of full dispersal covering all local authority areas in England, Wales and Scotland, as opposed to the previous position where many, including 31 out of 32 local authority areas in Scotland, did not take part in the dispersal accommodation system.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 01/07/2022 10:17:59 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4424 label Biography information for John McNally

1465764

	registered interest
	date	25/05/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Refugees: Hotels and Rented Housing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made a comparative assessment of the cost of housing refugees in (a) hotels and (b) rented accommodation; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of housing more refugees in rented accommodation.
	tabling member constituency	Falkirk
	tabling member printed	John McNally
	uin	9037
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2022 answer text <p>The Home Office has not made a comparative assessment of the cost of housing asylum seekers in either hotels or in rented accommodation on the basis that hotel accommodation is and always has been contingency accommodation where we are unable to procure sufficient Dispersed Accommodation to meet our statutory obligation. Whilst we are working to reduce our use of hotels, we must continue to ensure there is sufficient capacity in the system to meet our obligations.</p><p> </p><p>That is why we wrote to all Local Authorities on 13 April 2022 to set out plans for Full Dispersal. This will reduce and then eliminate the use of hotels for asylum seekers by moving to a full dispersal model for asylum accommodation.</p><p> </p><p>We will achieve this through three key interventions:</p><p> </p><p>1. To reduce and eliminate the use of hotels for asylum seekers by moving to a full dispersal model for asylum accommodation. This will mean expanding our existing approach of using private rental sector housing to all local authority areas across England, Scotland and Wales.</p><p> </p><p>2. We are committed to working with local authorities to move to a fairer distribution of asylum seekers and have launched an informal consultation with local government to inform how this model will work across England, Scotland and Wales and within regions and nations. The consultation will explore how asylum dispersal can better take account of the impact of other protection based immigration on local authorities, including resettlement and the care of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.</p><p>.</p><p>3. Providing specific funding to recognise the existing contribution of local authorities and for new dispersed accommodation. We will continue to work with local government to capture and evaluate data to understand the impact of asylum dispersal on local authorities going forward.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 10/06/2022 12:54:37 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4424 label Biography information for John McNally

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