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1192643

	registered interest
	date	04/05/2020
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Migrants: Deportation
	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 ability of her Department to operate flights to remove people held in immigration detention during the covid-19 outbreak over the next (a) 28 days, (b) three months and (c) six months.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	43018
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/05/2020 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">The Home Office continues to monitor the on-going changes to international flight restrictions and entry requirements imposed by receiving countries caused by the global response to COVID-19.</del><del class="ministerial">Enforced and voluntary returns continue on a case by case basis where we are able to do so. To some destinations, commercial scheduled routes are still open albeit limited. We will continue to work in this flexible manner over the next six months, being alert to softening of international restrictions, utilising a combination of scheduled commercial flights and specially arranged chartered flights with the support of receiving states to minimise detention time through the facilitation of returns</del><ins class="ministerial">The Home Office continues to monitor the on-going changes to international flight restrictions and entry requirements imposed by receiving countries caused by the global response to COVID-19. Enforced and voluntary returns continue on a case by case basis where we are able to do so. To some destinations, commercial scheduled routes are still open albeit limited. We will continue to work in this flexible manner over the coming weeks and months”being alert to softening of international restrictions, utilising a combination of scheduled commercial flights and specially arranged chartered flights with the support of receiving states to minimise detention time through the facilitation of returns.</ins></p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 18/05/2020 14:59:40 question first ministerially corrected 18/05/2020 16:35:40 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp previous answer version 22012 answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1194511

	registered interest
	date	11/05/2020
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Migrants: Detainees
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary for the Home Department, whether detainees released from detention centres have received testing for covid-19.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	45192
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/05/2020 answer text <p>The safety and health of people in the detention estate is of the utmost importance. We are following all Public Health England guidance and have robust contingency plans in place.</p><p>All immigration removal centres have dedicated health facilities run by doctors and nurses which are managed by the NHS or appropriate providers. The Home Office, its suppliers and NHS England healthcare providers in immigration removal centres are following PHE guidelines for the management of COVID-19.</p><p>Universal testing is not currently recommended under these guidelines for those in detention or those being released. Testing of individuals in immigration detention, including those released from immigration removal centres, will be dependent on individual circumstances.</p><p>There are no cases of Covid-19 in the immigration removal estate at present.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 18/05/2020 16:58:36 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1192642

	registered interest
	date	04/05/2020
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Migrants: Coronavirus
	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 effect of covid-19 on people with no recourse to public funds.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	43017
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/06/2020 answer text <p>The Home Office is working closely with other government departments, including the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care to support people, including migrants with no recourse to public funds (NRPF), through this crisis. Departments are sharing what they are learning from other bodies and charities with each other to ensure we continue to take a compassionate and pragmatic approach to an unprecedented situation.</p><p>Migrants with leave under the Family and Human Rights routes can apply to have the NRPF restriction lifted by making a ‘change of conditions’ application if there has been a change in their financial circumstances. The Home Office has recently digitised the application form to make sure it is accessible for those who need to remain at home, and applications are being dealt with swiftly and compassionately.</p><p>Many of the wide-ranging Covid-19 measures the government has put in place are not public funds and therefore are available to migrants with NRPF. The Government has published advice and information about the support available to migrants living here, including where they are subject to NRPF. This information covers statutory sick pay, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-get-support-if-youre-a-migrant-living-in-the-uk" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-get-support-if-youre-a-migrant-living-in-the-uk</a></p><p>Local authorities may also provide basic safety net support if it is established that there is a genuine care need that does not arise solely from destitution, for example, where there are community care needs, migrants with serious health problems or family cases where the wellbeing of a child is in question. The Government has provided more than £3.2 billion of funding to local authorities in England, and additional funding under the Barnett formula to the devolved administrations to enable them to respond to Covid-19 pressures across all the services they deliver, including services helping the most vulnerable.</p><p>In addition, on the 8th April the Chancellor announced an additional £750m package of support for charities across the UK to ensure they can continue their vital work during the Covid-19 pandemic.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 01/06/2020 11:44:25 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1230628

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2020
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Newcastle upon Tyne
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has published for companies contracted by her Department to provide housing for asylum seekers on the (a) policy and (b) safety of housing asylum seekers in hotels; and how many asylum seekers are housed in hotels in Newcastle upon Tyne as at 2 September 2020.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	84230
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2020 answer text <p>Hotel use as contingency accommodation is permitted as part of the accommodation contract, the contract for the North East of England can be found at <a href="https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/24c6a868-8e1a-4775-8d4f-ab750854d367" target="_blank">https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/24c6a868-8e1a-4775-8d4f-ab750854d367</a>.</p><p> </p><p>We are working closely with our providers to review security arrangements within all of the hotels currently being used to accommodate asylum seekers, including liaising closely with local Police colleagues.</p><p> </p><p>We are also working with Home Office and local authority colleagues to develop strategic responses to any further harassment of asylum seekers accommodated in hotels nationally.</p><p> </p><p>The number of asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority can be found at <a href="https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fstatistical-data-sets%2Fasylum-and-resettlement-datasets%23asylum-support&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C59aaf422e5514cc57ab908d80ee3338c%7Cf24d93ecb2914192a08af182245945c2%7C0%7C0%7C637275716261597833&amp;sdata=6LwYz97z54ErYCJEkz%2FEUt7eu4MaMdlnEDmyvSsu3I0%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets#asylum-support</a></p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 10/09/2020 10:16:16 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1234020

	registered interest
	date	14/09/2020
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Newcastle upon Tyne
	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 September 2020 to Question 84230 on Asylum: Newcastle Upon Tyne, how many asylum seekers in Newcastle are accommodated in hotels.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	89697
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/09/2020 answer text <p>The number of asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority can be found at <a href="https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fstatistical-data-sets%2Fasylum-and-resettlement-datasets%23asylum-support&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C59aaf422e5514cc57ab908d80ee3338c%7Cf24d93ecb2914192a08af182245945c2%7C0%7C0%7C637275716261597833&amp;sdata=6LwYz97z54ErYCJEkz%2FEUt7eu4MaMdlnEDmyvSsu3I0%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets#asylum-support</a>, this includes the numbers of those accommodated in hotels.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 24/09/2020 17:11:55 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1236295

	registered interest
	date	21/09/2020
	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, whether asylum applicants are required to claim asylum in the first safe country they reach.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	92768
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/09/2020 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">We believe that those who reach safe countries should stay and claim asylum without delay, rather than make further, unnecessary and often dangerous journeys in order to claim asylum in a country of their own choosing.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">Illegal migration from safe countries undermines our efforts to help those most in need - controlled resettlement via safe and legal routes is the best way to protect such people and disrupt the organised crime groups that exploit migrants and refugees.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">To support these principles, the UK, the EU and other countries in the world employ legal procedures to return people to the safe countries through which they have passed. In the case of the UK, the majority of such returns presently take place under the Dublin Regulation, but from 1 January, such returns will take place according to our domestic rules.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">Where the UK considers the claim of someone who has failed to take advantage of a reasonable opportunity to make an asylum claim or human rights claim while in a safe country, the law requires that behaviour to be taken into account as damaging to the claimant’s credibility.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We believe that those who reach safe countries should stay and claim asylum without delay, rather than make further, unnecessary and often dangerous journeys in order to claim asylum in a country of their own choosing.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Illegal migration from safe countries undermines our efforts to help those most in need - controlled resettlement direct from conflict zones via safe and legal routes is the best way to protect such people and disrupt the organised crime groups that exploit migrants and refugees.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">To support these principles, the UK, the EU and other countries in the world employ legal procedures to return people to the safe countries through which they have passed. In the case of the UK, the majority of such returns presently take place under the Dublin Regulation, but from 1 January, such returns will take place according to our domestic rules.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Where the UK considers the claim of someone who has failed to take advantage of a reasonable opportunity to make an asylum claim or human rights claim while in a safe country, the law requires that behaviour to be taken into account as damaging to the claimant’s credibility.</ins></p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 24/09/2020 16:09:45 question first ministerially corrected 24/09/2020 20:08:58 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp previous answer version 49772 answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1237844

	registered interest
	date	25/09/2020
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Newcastle upon Tyne
	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 24 September 2020 to Question 89697 on Asylum: Newcastle Upon Tyne, how many of the people resettled in Newcastle Upon Tyne in (a) 2016, (b) 2017, (c) 2018, (d) 2019 and (e) 2020 were accommodated in hotels.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	95630
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/10/2020 answer text <p>The number of asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets#asylum-support</p><p> </p><p>This includes the number of those in temporary accommodation.</p><p> </p><p>Data is published on a quarterly basis from 31<sup>st</sup> March 2014 with the latest information covering until 31<sup>st</sup> June 2020. The next quarterly figures are due to be released in November 2020</p><p> </p><p>It is Home Office policy to move people into suitable Dispersed Accommodation (DA) once their claim for support has been assessed.</p><p>The current global pandemic has presented significant challenges when it comes to the provision of asylum accommodation. This has included the need to source sufficient accommodation to meet demand.</p><p> </p><p>A comprehensive cessation plan has been established with input from Local Authorities, Other Government Departments and Stakeholders to reduce the number of people in hotels.</p><p> </p><p>Work to explore further options to accommodate asylum seekers has included work with the Ministry of Defence to identify and to utilise MOD sites at short notice.</p><p>This accommodation is contingency accommodation, whilst pressures in the system are addressed and will be discontinued as soon as the Home Office is able to do so.</p><p> </p><p>Our accommodation providers are working to maximise their procurement plans throughout the UK, but they can only do so with Local Authority agreement. It is our intention to move all individuals in contingency accommodation into suitable DA as soon as reasonably practical.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 05/10/2020 16:02:32 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1244168

	registered interest
	date	16/10/2020
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Skilled workers: Brexit
	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 develop skilled workers to administer UK borders (a) prior to and (b) after the end of the transition period.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	104729
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2020 answer text <p>Border Force is recruiting sufficient additional frontline staff to ensure full operational readiness at the UK border for the end of the Transition Period and the introduction of new immigration and customs controls from Jan 2021.</p><p> </p><p>New Border Force staff receive a comprehensive package of training prior to operational deployment. comprehensive guidance and training plans have been developed to upskill BF frontline officers in new policy, process and system changes for the end of the Transition Period. Initial training is further reinforced and supplemented by on the job mentoring once new staff have been deployed to UK ports.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 29/10/2020 17:02:43 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1259433

	registered interest
	date	08/12/2020
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Migrants
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many families have no recourse to public funds in (a) the UK, (b) North East and (c) Newcastle.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	126874
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/12/2020 answer text <p>The information you have requested is not currently published by the department. The department has written to the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) with regard to this matter. Please see the link below:</p><p><a href="https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.statisticsauthority.gov.uk%2Fcorrespondence%2Fresponse-from-daniel-shaw-to-ed-humpherson-parliamentary-question-response%2F&amp;data=02%7C01%7CSarah.Welch8%40homeoffice.gov.uk%7C672c9317f624471dd49008d853277f9f%7Cf24d93ecb2914192a08af182245945c2%7C0%7C0%7C637350776387888144&amp;sdata=AYId02otxuju476t%2FJfzEj4L4nzAH2l9GKyGrKAT6r8%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/correspondence/response-from-daniel-shaw-to-ed-humpherson-parliamentary-question-response/</a>.</p><p>In the Chief Statistician’s response to the UKSA, we committed to investigate whether there is data held by the Department which can inform understanding of the effect of the NRPF condition. Following our investigation, we have published information relating to change of conditions. The recent update to the Migration Transparency data in relation to change of conditions which was published on 26 November 2020, broke the data down in to further subsets of age, gender and nationality.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-protection-data-november-2020" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-protection-data-november-2020</a>.</p><p>As the Home Office has set out to the UKSA, there are a number of reasons why it is not of practical application for the Home Office to produce an estimate of the total population subject to NRPF at any one time.</p><p>Home Office administrative data only captures information on whether visas are subject to NRPF conditions for in-country extensions. The information is not available for applications from overseas which form the majority of applications.</p><p>The information captured by the Home Office does not take into account individuals who have left the country or all those in the UK without lawful status. Therefore, they cannot be used to accurately measure the resident population subject to no recourse to public funds at any one time.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 14/12/2020 10:50:01 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1345911

	registered interest
	date	12/07/2021
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Refugees
	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 the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State on 12 July 2021, Official Report, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for the UK's international obligations towards refugees of the Government's proposals on making entry to the UK from a safe country a criminal offence through the Nationality and Borders Bill.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	31396
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2021 answer text <p>This policy is compatible with our international obligations. Individuals who are recognised as refugees and who have travelled directly to the UK, in line with Article 31 of the Refugee Convention, will benefit from the protection of Article 31 and should therefore not be convicted of the illegal entry or arrival offences. No one will be returned to a country where they may be subjected to persecution.</p><p> </p><p>We remain committed to our international obligations under the UN Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights but individuals should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 15/07/2021 15:44:31 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah