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1464180

	registered interest
	date	18/05/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Refugees: Afghanistan
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many referrals the UNHCR has made to the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme to date.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	4579
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/06/2022 answer text <p><em>The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) commenced on 6 January, providing up to 20,000 women, children and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK. </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em>Eligible individuals can be referred onto the ACRS in one of three pathways as set out in the policy statement of 13 September 2021: </em></p><p><a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Fafghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statement&amp;data=05%7C01%7CViruben.Nandakumar%40homeoffice.gov.uk%7Ccf2ef291828d4f19246408da39775892%7Cf24d93ecb2914192a08af182245945c2%7C0%7C0%7C637885481986388109%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=OLGcBzgF162hg2O%2BCSVVddzufOaUfktOYsfRovpMhZc%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank"><em>https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statement</em></a><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em>In light of the success of our evacuation efforts, we expect to exceed our initial aim of resettling 5,000 through the ACRS in the first year. There are around 6,500 people in the UK who have been brought to safety during and after the evacuation and who are eligible for the ACRS.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em>Under Pathway 2, we are working at pace to receive referrals shortly of vulnerable refugees in need of protection from UNHCR, so that individuals affected by the events in Afghanistan can come to the UK and rebuild their lives. </em>Those referred by UNHCR will be assessed for resettlement by UNHCR using their established process.</p><p><br> We have been working across Government and with external partners to design the scheme, amidst an evolving picture on the ground. It has been important to design the scheme carefully to ensure it prioritises those at risk, and to ensure the support and services required by those being resettled are in place to help them integrate into society and rebuild their lives.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 08/06/2022 08:02:11 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1466462

	registered interest
	date	26/05/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Visas: Afghanistan
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department's policy is on whether people from Afghanistan, whose spouses are British nationals and live in the UK, are subject to English language tests when applying for visas; and where those tests are completed.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	9880
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2022 answer text <p>The Government believes those seeking to enter and make a permanent home in the UK should be equipped to integrate successfully in UK society, with an appropriate level of English and an understanding of British life.</p><p>However, under the current Rules an applicant can be exempted from the English language requirement to enter the UK if a decision maker considers there are exceptional circumstances preventing the applicant from meeting the requirement.</p><p>The applicant must demonstrate, as a result of exceptional circumstances, they are unable to learn English before coming to the UK or it is not practicable or reasonable for them to travel to another country to take an approved English language test.</p><p>Each application for an exemption on the basis of exceptional circumstances will be considered on its merits on a case-by-case basis.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 06/06/2022 15:32:30 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1461292

	registered interest
	date	10/05/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Refugees: Afghanistan
	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 her Department's press release entitled, Support for British and non-British nationals in Afghanistan, published on 22 August 2021, how many calls have been made to the support helpline; of those calls, how many were answered; whether that helpline is still open; and what the average waiting time is for calls made to that helpline to be answered.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	264
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/05/2022 answer text <p>The Afghanistan Support Helpline is open and available to non-British nationals in Afghanistan, or family members of a non-British nationals in Afghanistan, in need of assistance and is open 9am to 5pm UK time, Monday to Friday.</p><p>From the 4 January, we have been offered 7326 calls and answered 6964 which is 95% calls answered. Average wait time was 1 minute 38 seconds.</p><p> </p><p>The helpline received a large proportion of calls in the initial 2 weeks of opening which saw longer wait times. This impacted the overall waiting time and number of calls answered.</p><p>The department continues to closely monitor and review the volume of calls being made to the helpline, with a significant reduction in the number of calls since opening.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 16/05/2022 13:43:52 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1452780

	registered interest
	date	21/03/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Hotels
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of asylum seekers who are based in hotels and are being supported by her Department who have been waiting for their asylum interview for (a) three to six months, (b) six to nine months and (c) nine to 12 months and (d) over a year.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	143683
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/04/2022 answer text <p>The Home Office are unable to provide data for the estimate proportion of asylum seekers based in hotels being supported, who have had their asylum interview and are awaiting a decision or the numbers who have been waiting for their asylum interview for three to six months, six to nine months and nine to 12 months and over a year as this information is not held in a reportable format.</p><p>However, the Home Office can provide the numbers of asylum seekers awaiting an asylum decision by duration and the number of asylum seekers in receipt of support and can be found at Asy_04 and Asy_07b of the published immigration statistics:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-december-2021/list-of-tables#asylum-and-resettlement" target="_blank">List of tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 143682 question first answered 13/04/2022 10:57:49 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1452779

	registered interest
	date	21/03/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Hotels
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the proportion of asylum seekers based in hotels being supported by her Department who (a) are awaiting their asylum interview and (b) have had their asylum interview and are awaiting a decision.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	143682
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/04/2022 answer text <p>The Home Office are unable to provide data for the estimate proportion of asylum seekers based in hotels being supported, who have had their asylum interview and are awaiting a decision or the numbers who have been waiting for their asylum interview for three to six months, six to nine months and nine to 12 months and over a year as this information is not held in a reportable format.</p><p>However, the Home Office can provide the numbers of asylum seekers awaiting an asylum decision by duration and the number of asylum seekers in receipt of support and can be found at Asy_04 and Asy_07b of the published immigration statistics:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-year-ending-december-2021/list-of-tables#asylum-and-resettlement" target="_blank">List of tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 143683 question first answered 13/04/2022 10:57:49 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1452270

	registered interest
	date	17/03/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Visas: Tourism
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing low cost visitor visas to support the recovery of the tourist economy following the covid-19 pandemic.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	141988
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2022 answer text <p>The Home Office recognises the importance of visitors to the UK economy and so has kept fees for Short-Term Visit Visas below the estimated cost of processing an application. Income from fees charged for immigration and nationality applications plays a vital role in our ability to run a sustainable Migration and Borders system.</p><p>The visa fee will normally represent a relatively small cost within the context of the overall decision to visit the UK, once costs of travel, accommodation and currency fluctuations are taken into account.</p><p>It is worth noting many coming from key markets for our tourism sector, including North America and Europe, are non-visa nationals so do not need to apply for a visa in advance of travelling here for a visit of up to 6 months, with EEA nationals and nationals of Australia, Canada, Singapore, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and the United States of America able to use our e-gates (Where available) on arrival in the UK.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 25/03/2022 17:29:17 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster previous answer version 60478 answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1452777

	registered interest
	date	21/03/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: English Language
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on (a) provision of and (b) eligibility for English language classes for asylum seekers who are based in hotel accommodation paid for by her Department.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	143681
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2022 answer text <p>The provision of English classes (English as a Second Language (ESoL)) for asylum seekers within hotels is not funded by the Home Office.</p><p>ESoL courses may be provided by the voluntary sector in the local communities where hotels are being used to house asylum seekers in their area.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 24/03/2022 15:49:33 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1433896

	registered interest
	date	21/02/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Applications
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average processing time was for an individual's asylum claim in January (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021 and (d) 2022.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	126649
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/02/2022 answer text <p>The Home Office are unable to report how many individual asylum claims have been processed and approved in each month of the last five years as this information is not recorded and held in a reportable format, however we do publish data on the percentage of asylum applications processed within 6 months of the date of claim and can be found at Asy_01 of the Asylum Transparency Data January 2022:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-and-protection-data-q3-2021" target="_blank">Immigration and protection data: Q3 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p><p>The Home Office also publish data on asylum initial decisions outcomes which can be found at Asy_D02 of the Immigration Statistics September 2021:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets#age-disputes" target="_blank">Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>:</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 28/02/2022 18:03:06 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster previous answer version 52953 answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1433895

	registered interest
	date	21/02/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Applications
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many individual asylum claims her Department has (a) processed and (b) approved in each month of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	126648
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/02/2022 answer text <p>The Home Office are unable to report how many individual asylum claims have been processed and approved in each month of the last five years as this information is not recorded and held in a reportable format, however we do publish data on the percentage of asylum applications processed within 6 months of the date of claim and can be found at Asy_01 of the Asylum Transparency Data January 2022:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-and-protection-data-q3-2021" target="_blank">Immigration and protection data: Q3 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p><p>The Home Office also publish data on asylum initial decisions outcomes which can be found at Asy_D02 of the Immigration Statistics September 2021:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets#age-disputes" target="_blank">Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>:</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 28/02/2022 11:36:02 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster previous answer version 52955 answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1433894

	registered interest
	date	21/02/2022
	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 individual asylum claims her Department received in each month of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	126647
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/02/2022 answer text <p>The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release" target="_blank">Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release</a>’. Data on asylum applications raised are published in table Asy_D01, and data on the outcomes of asylum applications at initial decision are published in table Asy_D02 of the ‘<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets#asylum-applications-decisions-and-resettlement" target="_blank">asylum and resettlement detailed datasets</a>’. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to the end of December 2021.</p><p>Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘<a href="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" target="_blank">Research and statistics calendar</a>’.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 28/02/2022 11:35:08 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster previous answer version 52954 answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra