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1121497

	registered interest
	date	11/04/2019
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	European Parliament: Elections
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the readiness and capacity of local authorities to perform their duties relating to the 2019 European Parliament elections.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	244195
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2019 answer text <p>It remains the Government’s intention to leave the EU with a deal and not participate in European Parliamentary elections.</p><p> </p><p>Returning Officers, who are statutorily independent, work with their local authority to ensure the necessary support and resource are made available to them to deliver elections, including through following guidance issued by the Electoral Commission.</p><p> </p><p><strong><br> </strong></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 24/04/2019 12:28:01 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1303445

	registered interest
	date	17/03/2021
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Immigration: EU Nationals
	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 plans to take to tackle the matter of self-sufficient individuals of EU nationality who were not informed of requirements to hold comprehensive sickness insurance but who now require such insurance to apply for British citizenship.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	170734
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2021 answer text <p>Guidance on which groups of EEA nationals required comprehensive sickness insurance, as well as the types of documents accepted to meet this condition, has always been publicly available. This can currently be found from page 38 of the guidance on ‘qualified persons’ available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/european-economic-area-nationals-qualified-persons" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/european-economic-area-nationals-qualified-persons</a>.</p><p>The requirements to naturalise as a British citizen remain unchanged by our exit from the European Union or the implementation of the EU Settlement Scheme. This includes requirements to normally have been free of immigration time restrictions for 12 months before applying, and to have been lawfully in the UK throughout the residential qualifying period.</p><p>There may be cases where nationality caseworkers need to satisfy themselves the person was here lawfully. This is not a new requirement and was an assessment we have always been making. It is also a statutory requirement and cannot be ignored. The same applies to all applicants, EEA or not. We have recently amended the application forms to ensure we can gather as much of this information upfront at the application stage where possible.</p><p>Guidance on GOV.UK sets out when we might exercise discretion where a person did not meet the lawful residence requirements. This includes where it is because the applicant did not meet an additional/implicit condition of stay under EEA Free Movement Regulations, rather than illegal entry or overstaying, such as an EEA or Swiss national living or studying in the UK, rather than working, not having CSI.</p><p>As has previously been confirmed I am not aware of any application for UK Citizenship being declined purely on the basis of the CSI requirement under EEA Free Movement Regulations and it should not deter anyone from making their application. The guidance can be found at the following link:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/naturalisation-as-a-british-citizen-by-discretion-nationality-policy-guidance" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/naturalisation-as-a-british-citizen-by-discretion-nationality-policy-guidance</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 170735 question first answered 26/03/2021 13:39:05 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1303446

	registered interest
	date	17/03/2021
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Immigration: EU Nationals
	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 efficacy of Government communications on publicising the requirement for EU citizens living in the UK to hold Comprehensive Sickness Insurance.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	170735
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2021 answer text <p>Guidance on which groups of EEA nationals required comprehensive sickness insurance, as well as the types of documents accepted to meet this condition, has always been publicly available. This can currently be found from page 38 of the guidance on ‘qualified persons’ available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/european-economic-area-nationals-qualified-persons" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/european-economic-area-nationals-qualified-persons</a>.</p><p>The requirements to naturalise as a British citizen remain unchanged by our exit from the European Union or the implementation of the EU Settlement Scheme. This includes requirements to normally have been free of immigration time restrictions for 12 months before applying, and to have been lawfully in the UK throughout the residential qualifying period.</p><p>There may be cases where nationality caseworkers need to satisfy themselves the person was here lawfully. This is not a new requirement and was an assessment we have always been making. It is also a statutory requirement and cannot be ignored. The same applies to all applicants, EEA or not. We have recently amended the application forms to ensure we can gather as much of this information upfront at the application stage where possible.</p><p>Guidance on GOV.UK sets out when we might exercise discretion where a person did not meet the lawful residence requirements. This includes where it is because the applicant did not meet an additional/implicit condition of stay under EEA Free Movement Regulations, rather than illegal entry or overstaying, such as an EEA or Swiss national living or studying in the UK, rather than working, not having CSI.</p><p>As has previously been confirmed I am not aware of any application for UK Citizenship being declined purely on the basis of the CSI requirement under EEA Free Movement Regulations and it should not deter anyone from making their application. The guidance can be found at the following link:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/naturalisation-as-a-british-citizen-by-discretion-nationality-policy-guidance" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/naturalisation-as-a-british-citizen-by-discretion-nationality-policy-guidance</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 170734 question first answered 26/03/2021 13:39:05 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1310085

	registered interest
	date	19/04/2021
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Fraud: Telephone Services
	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 trends in the number of scam phone calls being reported to Action Fraud in each month since March 2020; and what steps she is taking bring the perpetrators of those scams to justice.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	183278
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2021 answer text <p>The Home Office collects information from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau on the number of recorded frauds. From the information held internally it is not possible to separately identify offences of fraud in which scam phone calls have been involved.</p><p>As part of the 2020 Spending Review, the Government committed a further £63m to the Home Office to tackle economic crime, including fraud. This is in addition to the funding the Home Office commits each year to the National Crime Agency, National Economic Crime Centre and police forces, including the City of London Police as the national lead force for fraud and the operator of the Action Fraud and National Fraud Intelligence Bureau services.</p><p>The Home Office and DCMS are in regular discussion with the telecommunication industry on ways to tackle scam phone calls and protect the public. The Government has taken a range of actions to reduce the number of these calls. We have supported the National Trading Standards Scams Team to roll out call blocking devices to vulnerable people, helping to protect them from nuisance calls and scams. In addition, the City of London Police, the national lead force for Fraud, has partnered with Law Enforcement and Industry to combat call centre fraud from overseas jurisdictions.</p><p>However, the best way to tackle this problem is to try and identify the sources of these calls and stop them. We are encouraging the public to forward suspicious text messages to 7726 (which is free of charge) and continue to encourage anyone who has been a targeted by a scam to report it. Action Fraud is the central police reporting point for all victims of fraud and can be contacted by phone on 0300 123 2040 or through their website: <a href="http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud" target="_blank">http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud</a>.</p><p>Using this information, City of London Police, the National Cyber Security Centre and the National Crime Agency are able to facilitate numbers being used for scam calls/texts being blocked or removed.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 183279 question first answered 27/04/2021 14:54:56 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1310086

	registered interest
	date	19/04/2021
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Fraud: Internet and Telephone Services
	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 adequacy of the resources available to tackling online and phone scammers.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	183279
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2021 answer text <p>The Home Office collects information from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau on the number of recorded frauds. From the information held internally it is not possible to separately identify offences of fraud in which scam phone calls have been involved.</p><p>As part of the 2020 Spending Review, the Government committed a further £63m to the Home Office to tackle economic crime, including fraud. This is in addition to the funding the Home Office commits each year to the National Crime Agency, National Economic Crime Centre and police forces, including the City of London Police as the national lead force for fraud and the operator of the Action Fraud and National Fraud Intelligence Bureau services.</p><p>The Home Office and DCMS are in regular discussion with the telecommunication industry on ways to tackle scam phone calls and protect the public. The Government has taken a range of actions to reduce the number of these calls. We have supported the National Trading Standards Scams Team to roll out call blocking devices to vulnerable people, helping to protect them from nuisance calls and scams. In addition, the City of London Police, the national lead force for Fraud, has partnered with Law Enforcement and Industry to combat call centre fraud from overseas jurisdictions.</p><p>However, the best way to tackle this problem is to try and identify the sources of these calls and stop them. We are encouraging the public to forward suspicious text messages to 7726 (which is free of charge) and continue to encourage anyone who has been a targeted by a scam to report it. Action Fraud is the central police reporting point for all victims of fraud and can be contacted by phone on 0300 123 2040 or through their website: <a href="http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud" target="_blank">http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report_fraud</a>.</p><p>Using this information, City of London Police, the National Cyber Security Centre and the National Crime Agency are able to facilitate numbers being used for scam calls/texts being blocked or removed.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 183278 question first answered 27/04/2021 14:54:56 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1455983

	registered interest
	date	30/03/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Homes for Ukraine Scheme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many refugees matched through the Homes for Ukraine scheme are now in the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	150260
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2022 answer text <p>Information on the number of Ukrainian arrivals in the UK via the Homes for Ukraine Scheme can be found here:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Fukraine-family-scheme-application-data%2Fukraine-family-scheme-and-ukraine-sponsorship-scheme-homes-for-ukraine-visa-data--2&amp;data=04%7C01%7CKeith.Edwards42%40homeoffice.gov.uk%7C155b886eff12408893b808da1947bd1a%7Cf24d93ecb2914192a08af182245945c2%7C0%7C0%7C637850093138844646%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&amp;sdata=rrTGd2XRkqD9CupfYU7%2BY5lYNa%2BgCn3eO906QSRW0Ok%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Ukraine Family Scheme and Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (Homes for Ukraine) visa data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 19/04/2022 16:45:16 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1460167

	registered interest
	date	25/04/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Visas: Ukraine
	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 likelihood that UK residents who previously applied to host Ukrainian refugees under the family visa route may also now apply under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme, due to the financial assistance available; and of whether it is possible, should this occur, that duplicate visas may be issued.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	159070
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2022 answer text <p>It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 28/04/2022 11:04:04 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1462020

	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	Visas: Ukraine
	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 number of UK residents who applied to host Ukrainian refugees under the family visa route and the Homes for Ukraine Scheme; and if duplicate visas have bene issued.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	941
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/05/2022 answer text <p>Applicants are encouraged to apply under the scheme that matches their circumstances.</p><p>If an application under one scheme is not granted, an application under the alternative scheme may be considered, or a re-application under the same scheme. An application to the Homes For Ukraine scheme cannot be made by an individual who is already in the UK and so a person in the UK cannot switch between the different schemes.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 19/05/2022 16:30:08 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1465890

	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	Passports: 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 passport applications submitted to the Passport Office in the last six months have been fully processed within (a) four weeks, (b) six weeks, (c) eight weeks and (d) ten weeks.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	9137
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/06/2022 answer text <p>Ahead of unrestricted international travel returning, HM Passport Office prepared extensively to serve an unprecedented number of customers, with 9.5 million British passport applications forecasted throughout 2022.</p><p>These preparations, which include the recruitment of 650 additional staff since April 2021 and with plans in place to recruit a further 550 by this summer, have ensured that passport applications can be processed in higher numbers than ever before. This was demonstrated in March and April 2022 when HM Passport Office achieved record outputs by completing the processing of two million applications.</p><p>Since April 2021, HM Passport Office has been advising people to allow up to 10 weeks when applying for their passport from the UK. However, Her Majesty’s Passport Office will always endeavour to process applications as quickly as possible, and in the simplest of cases that require fewer manual interventions these may be processed much more quickly.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 07/06/2022 11:14:24 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1468187

	registered interest
	date	07/06/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Passports: Applications
	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 Answer to the Question from the Rt hon. Member for Holborn and St Pancras at Prime Minister's Questions on 25 May 2022, Official Report, Column 286, how many and what proportion of passport applications submitted over the last three months were processed within six weeks.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	13815
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/06/2022 answer text <p>Since April 2021, people have been advised to allow up to ten weeks when applying for their British passport as more than 5 million people delayed applying due to the pandemic.</p><p> </p><p>The vast majority of applications continue to be dealt with well within 10 weeks.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 15/06/2022 08:57:32 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster previous answer version 5701 answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury