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1226213

	registered interest
	date	20/07/2020
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Islamic State: British Nationals Abroad
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Daesh fighters are known to have returned to the UK; how many such fighters and individuals assisting Daesh in different capacities have been prosecuted in the UK courts, including anyone who has (1) financed, or (2) recruited for, Daesh; on what charges any such individuals have been prosecuted; and what progress they have made on the proposal to establish an international ad-hoc tribunal for Daesh.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL7040
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/08/2020 answer text <p>Around 900 people have travelled from the UK to engage with the conflict in Syria and Iraq, against the advice of the Foreign Office.  Of these, approximately 20% have been killed in the conflict and around 40% have returned to the UK.</p><p> </p><p>The Governments priority is the safety and security of the people who live here. All of those who have returned, have been investigated and the majority have been assessed to pose no, or a low security risk. Around 40 individuals have been convicted on their return from Syria/Iraq, either because of offences committed overseas or for other activity linked to their involvement in terrorism. Individuals can be convicted in UK courts of offences committed overseas (including preparation of terrorism, encouragement of terrorism and membership of a proscribed organisation). Furthermore, through the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019, we have extended this to new offences including: inviting or recklessly expressing support for a proscribed organisation and for sharing their propaganda.</p><p> </p><p>The UK continues to work with international partners, as well as partners in the region in seeking to secure the prosecution of individuals who have committed crimes in the name of Daesh. Any such justice mechanism must respect human rights and the rule of law.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 03/08/2020 12:30:15 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1179823

	registered interest
	date	24/02/2020
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	British National (Overseas): Passports
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many applications have been received for British National (Overseas) passports in each of the last three years, broken down by month.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL1704
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/03/2020 answer text <p>The figures provided for 2019 can only be reported up to the end of June 2019 as these figures are reported within the Home Office transparency figures and cannot be published separately at this time<strong><em>.</em></strong><br></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Month</p></td><td><p>BN (O) applications received in 2018</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January</p></td><td><p>1,779</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February</p></td><td><p>1,464</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March</p></td><td><p>1,677</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April</p></td><td><p>1,642</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May</p></td><td><p>1,765</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June</p></td><td><p>1,681</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>July</p></td><td><p>1,866</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August</p></td><td><p>1,726</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September</p></td><td><p>1,337</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>October</p></td><td><p>1,911</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>November</p></td><td><p>1,780</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December</p></td><td><p>1,821</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Month</p></td><td><p>BN (O) applications received in 2017</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January</p></td><td><p>1,734</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February</p></td><td><p>1,573</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March</p></td><td><p>1,798</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April</p></td><td><p>1,558</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May</p></td><td><p>1,820</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June</p></td><td><p>1,742</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>July</p></td><td><p>1,906</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August</p></td><td><p>1,797</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September</p></td><td><p>1,669</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>October</p></td><td><p>1,871</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>November</p></td><td><p>1,526</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December</p></td><td><p>1,413</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Month</p></td><td><p>BN (O) applications received in 2019</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January</p></td><td><p>2,139</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February</p></td><td><p>1,753</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March</p></td><td><p>2,581</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April</p></td><td><p>2,957</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May</p></td><td><p>3,492</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June</p></td><td><p>5,532</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong> </strong> <strong> </strong> <strong> </strong> <strong> </strong> <strong> </strong> <strong> </strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 04/03/2020 16:36:45 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1129488

	registered interest
	date	04/06/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Slavery
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many reports of slavery-related offences have been made to competent authorities since the Modern Slavery Act 2015 came into force, broken down by (1) month, and (2) the identity of first responder.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL15973
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2019 answer text <p>The National Crime Agency publishes statistics on referrals into the National Referral Mechanism on a quarterly basis. This report presents a summary of the number of potential victims of modern slavery and human trafficking referred into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) in 2018 and is the final annual report in this format, prior to the transfer of the NRM to the new Home Office Single Competent Authority in April 2019 as part of a wide-reaching NRM Reform Programme.</p><p>Further analysis is contained within the 2018 UK Annual Report on Modern Slavery. These reports are available via the following links:</p><p><a href="https://nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/who-we-are/publications/282-national-referral-mechanism-statistics-end-of-year-summary-2018" target="_blank">https://nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/who-we-are/publications/282-national-referral-mechanism-statistics-end-of-year-summary-2018 </a></p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/749346/2018_UK_Annual_Report_on_Modern_Slavery.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/749346/2018_UK_Annual_Report_on_Modern_Slavery.pdf</a></p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford attachment 1 file name NCA - Stats End of Year Summary 2018.pdf title NCA - National Ref Mechanism Stats - 2018 2 file name 2018_UK_Annual_Report_on_Modern_Slavery.pdf title UK Annual Report on Modern Slavery - 2018 question first answered 18/06/2019 14:42:32 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1233554

	registered interest
	date	10/09/2020
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Refugees: Children
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many unaccompanied children have been transferred since June to the care of councils since arriving in England from crossing the English Channel; to list the countries of origin of such children, including the number of children for each such country;  what their policy is in regard to the long term needs and care of these children; and what plans they have to make the National Transfer Scheme compulsory.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL8010
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/09/2020 answer text <p>The Government remains committed to helping and supporting children in need of international protection. Since 2010, the UK has received over 23,700 asylum claims from unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC).</p><p>The National Transfer Scheme (NTS) supports local authorities to transfer responsibility for these children to another participating local authority and seeks to achieve a fairer allocation of caring responsibilities across the country so that all children get the care and support they need.</p><p>We publish data on the number of transfers completed under the scheme each quarter as part of the Home Office Migration Transparency Data (NTS_01), which is available on GOV.UK. As at June 2020, over 1,050 children had been transferred under the scheme since it began. We do not currently publish a nationality breakdown of those children transferred under the scheme, however these children would be a subset of the UASC data published as part of the ‘asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement’ volume of the quarterly Immigration Statistics (Asy_D01), which is also available on GOV.UK.</p><p>UASC have often suffered deep trauma and they should receive the same level of care and support we would expect for any looked after child. In 2017, we published our Safeguarding Strategy for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking and Refugee Children which sets out the Government’s commitments to safeguard and promote their welfare.</p><p>Whilst there are statutory powers to mandate a transfer scheme, our preference is to continue to operate the NTS on a voluntary basis. We recognise a need to achieve a more equitable distribution of UASC and have therefore worked with local government partners to develop proposals to further improve the scheme. On 28 August we launched an informal consultation with local authorities on these proposals. The consultation also seeks views on a potential mandatory approach should participation in the voluntary scheme not achieve a more proportionate distribution of UASC.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 24/09/2020 16:00:30 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1131439

	registered interest
	date	11/06/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Coalition for Religious Equality and Inclusive Development: Conferences
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many visa applications were (1) made by, and (2) refused for, participants and speakers in the Coalition for Religious Equality and Inclusive Development conference, held in Westminster on 11 June; and on what grounds they made each such refusal.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL16233
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2019 answer text <p>Information on the stated purpose of visit or reasons for refusal is not held in a reportable field on the Home Office visa case-working system.</p><p>The available statistics on grants and refusals by entry clearance visa category, including work and visitor visa routes, are published in the quarterly Immigration Statistics Visas volume 1 table vi_01_q, latest edition at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-march-2019/list-of-tables#visas" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-march-2019/list-of-tables#visas</a>.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 25/06/2019 16:29:29 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1222725

	registered interest
	date	09/07/2020
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to respond to the concerns raised by the Cavendish Coalition, on behalf of UK health and social care groups, that their current immigration proposals would not allow enough overseas workers to be recruited for the care sector; and how they intend to address any shortfall of such workers in the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL6655
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2020 answer text <p>The Government recognises the fantastic contribution made by those working in the social care sector and the need for roles in it to offer rewarding career opportunities. The independent Migration Advisory Committee has been very clear immigration is not the answer to the challenges faced in this sector, a view the Government shares.</p><p>The Minister for Future Borders and Immigration has met with the Cavendish Coalition to hear their thoughts about future immigration policy. In response he confirmed the Government would not be creating a migration route to allow some employers in the sector to permanently recruit at the legal minimum wage as an alternative to paying more competitive\rewarding salaries to their staff who undertake such valuable work supporting the most vulnerable.</p><p>He also outlined how the groups represented by the Cavendish Coalition should in the first instance seek to engage with the Department for Work &amp; Pensions about how they can work together to encourage more UK based jobseekers into rewarding careers in the Social Care Sector, rather than view immigration as the preferred option for addressing any shortfall in recruitment and as a way to ensure continued recruitment at the legal minimum wage. This is especially relevant when many UK based workers with the ability to make excellent social carer workers are looking for new employment due to the economic impact of Covid-19.</p><p>As we implement the new immigration system, we want employers to focus on investing in our domestic work force and offering rewarding packages to Social Care Workers, rather than view immigration as an alternative to doing this. In relation to roles within the sector where specific training is required the new skilled worker route will provide for a broader range of roles, including senior care workers to come to the UK.</p><p>The EU Settlement Scheme means all EU and EAA citizens, and their family members, currently working in social care can stay in the UK and we are encouraging them to do so.</p><p>The Government is supporting the Social Care sector in several ways, including through launching a national recruitment campaign and providing councils with access to an additional £1.5 billion for adults and children’s social care in 2020-21.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 30/07/2020 12:15:28 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1224156

	registered interest
	date	13/07/2020
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Slavery: Victims
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) reports that up to 10,000 people could be victims of modern slavery in textile factories in Leicester, (2) claims by Andrew Bridgen MP that “a conspiracy of silence” has prevented action from being taken on such victims' behalf, (3) the report by the Centre for Social Justice It Still Happens Here: Fighting UK Slavery in the 2020s, published on 12 July, that estimates there are at least 100,000 victims of modern slavery in the UK each year; and what plans they have (a) to undertake an analysis of those statistics, and (b) publish a summary of the factors to be considered to review the effectiveness of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL6753
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/07/2020 answer text <p>We are deeply concerned by the appalling reports of illegal and unsafe working conditions for garment workers in Leicester. The Government will not tolerate the exploitation of vulnerable workers for commercial gain and is committed to taking action against those who seek to do so.</p><p> </p><p>While we cannot comment on any ongoing investigations, we can confirm that since 2017 a number of operations have been undertaken in the Leicester area linked to potential exploitation of workers, including by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, HMRC and Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate. On each occasion, where breaches were found, enforcement action was taken, including warning letters, recovery of unpaid wages and director disqualifications.</p><p> </p><p>In March 2020, the Office for National Statistics noted that there is no definitive source of data or suitable method available to accurately quantify the number of potential victims of modern slavery in the UK. While the hidden nature of modern slavery makes providing an accurate measure of its scale difficult, we are committed to improving our understanding of this often complex crime. In July 2019, the Government announced a £10 million investment to create a new Policy and Evidence Centre for Modern Slavery and Human Rights. We will continue working with the Centre and other partners to strengthen the evidence base underpinning our policy and operational response to modern slavery.</p><p> </p><p>In July 2018, the Government commissioned an Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The aim of the Review was to identify what can be improved in the implementation of the Act and whether specific areas of the legislation need to be strengthened. The Government response (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/803406/Independent_review_of_the_Modern_Slavery_Act_-_final_report.pdf) to the Independent Review, which was published on 9 July 2019, accepted or partially accepted the majority of the Review’s recommendations.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 27/07/2020 15:22:06 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1181769

	registered interest
	date	02/03/2020
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Right of Abode: British National (Overseas)
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the letter from Lord Goldsmith to the Home Secretary on 14 February which stated that the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration does not prevent the extension of full right of abode in the UK to those in Hong Kong who own a British National (Overseas) passport; and what response they intend to make to the reported request in that letter that "false statements" about the nature of his advice in relation to the rights of British National (Overseas) passports should be "retracted and not repeated".
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL2031
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/03/2020 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">We have received Lord Goldsmith’s letter and we are considering our response. The UK takes seriously its support for BN(O)s and the rights that status confers upon them. We continue to believe that the best outcome for BN(O)s is for the high degree of autonomy and rights and freedoms set out in the Joint Declaration and provided for in the Basic Law to be upheld.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We have received Lord Goldsmith’s letter and we are considering our response. The UK takes seriously its support for BN(O)s and the rights that status confers upon them. We continue to believe that the best outcome for BN(O)s is for the high degree of autonomy and rights and freedoms set out in the Joint Declaration and provided for in the Basic Law to be upheld.</ins></p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 16/03/2020 17:44:44 question first ministerially corrected 16/03/2020 17:58:42 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford previous answer version 12691 answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1170132

	registered interest
	date	13/01/2020
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Refugees: Children
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Amnesty International, The Refugee Council and Save the Children Without my Family, published on 10 January, which calls for changes to Government policy on family separation of child refugees in the UK.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL279
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/01/2020 answer text <p>The Government provides safe and legal routes to bring families together through its family reunion policy. This allows a partner and children under 18 of those granted protection in the UK to join them here, if they formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country.</p><p>Our current policy does not allow child refugees to sponsor their parents. The Government’s view is that if children could sponsor parents, it would risk creating incentives for more children to be encouraged, or even forced, to leave their family and risk hazardous journeys to the UK. This plays into the hands of criminal gangs who exploit vulnerable people and goes against our safeguarding responsibilities.</p><p>Our policy is not designed to keep child refugees apart from their parents, but in considering any policy we must think carefully about the wider impact to avoid putting more people unnecessarily into harm’s way.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 27/01/2020 17:10:33 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1144871

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2019
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Refugee and the No Accommodation Network Missing the Safety Net, published on 4 September, in particular the finding that the Home Office is frequently failing to provide vulnerable people, including pregnant women, with the asylum support to which they are entitled.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL17705
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2019 answer text <p>We will discuss the report with the authors and respond in due course.</p><p>The report is about support arrangements for failed asylum seekers, who can apply to receive accommodation and other assistance if they would otherwise be destitute and can show that there is a temporary obstacle preventing their departure from the UK . Most of these applications are decided upon within 5 working days, or 2 days if the person is vulnerable, but some take longer because of the need to make further enquiries to establish that the person is eligible to receive the support. There is a right of appeal to the independent Tribunal if the application is refused.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 08/10/2019 11:13:37 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool