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1467189

	registered interest
	date	01/06/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Immigration: Fees and Charges
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to allow applicants for the bereaved partner concession to make a fee waiver request; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	11538
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/06/2022 answer text <p>There are no plans to allow applicants for the bereaved partner concession to make a fee waiver request. However, we keep the Immigration Rules and guidance under review and make changes when appropriate.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 08/06/2022 16:30:01 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1464166

	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	Windrush Lessons Learned Review
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to publish a response to the recommendations made in the report by Wendy Williams entitled Windrush Lessons Learned Review: progress update, published on 31 March 2022.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	4455
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2022 answer text <p>In response to Recommendation 2 of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review, Wendy Williams returned to the Department in September 2021 to review our progress in implementing the recommendations of that Review and the commitments we made in the Comprehensive Improvement Plan. Her Progress Update was published in March this year.</p><p>Wendy concludes there is no doubt the Department has risen to the challenge she set for us, and she acknowledges there are several areas where very good progress has been made. Wendy also rightly holds us to account where we have not made sufficient progress. We know there is more to do.</p><p>The progress update does not include new recommendations and we will continue to drive forward progress on Wendy’s original 30 recommendations. Having laid the foundations for radical change in the department and a total transformation of culture, we are committed to delivering long-lasting and meaningful improvements.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 24/05/2022 09:23:25 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster previous answer version 2242 answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1461813

	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	Immigration: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people held valid leave to remain from which the No Recourse to Public Funds condition had been lifted at the most recent date for which data is available, irrespective of whether the person’s first recorded leave was in-country or out-of-country; and of those people how many (i) were main applicants, (ii) were dependants and (iii) held visas in each category.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	579
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2022 answer text <p>Due to the cross cutting nature across the department, the cost would be disproportionate due to manual trawl required.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 580 question first answered 23/05/2022 13:18:55 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1461814

	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	Immigration
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people held valid leave to remain at the most recent date for which data is available, irrespective of whether the person’s first recorded leave was in-country or out-of-country; and of those people how many (i) were main applicants, (ii) were dependants and (iii) held visas in each category.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	580
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2022 answer text <p>Due to the cross cutting nature across the department, the cost would be disproportionate due to manual trawl required.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 579 question first answered 23/05/2022 13:18:55 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1461519

	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	Oxfam: India
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with her Indian counterpart on the Indian Government's decision to refuse the renewal of Oxfam India’s Foreign Contribution Regulation Act license.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	27
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2022 answer text <p>The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) license was most recently raised on 10 February 2022, during the annual UK-India Home Affairs Dialogue, co-chaired by Home Office Permanent Secretary, Sir Matthew Rycroft, and Indian Home Secretary Bhalla. The Permanent Secretary addressed the difficulties that some NGOs in India have faced due to the enforcement of the FCRA, which is impacting both on the work we are funding and the work of UK-headquartered global NGOs in India.</p><p> </p><p>The British High Commissioner to India also met with the CEO of Oxfam India on 14 January to understand their concerns and offer support. We continue to monitor developments related to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, especially impacts on UK Government-funded programmes in India, and the work of British NGOs in India.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 17/05/2022 13:11:29 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1455851

	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	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 assessment she has made of the potential merits of offering a fee-waiver to people applying to come to the UK from Afghanistan using the Appendix FM route.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	150070
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/04/2022 answer text <p>Those applying to come to the UK from Afghanistan using the Appendix FM route can apply for an overseas fee waiver.</p><p>The guidance for the discretion to waive a fee from overseas is being revised and is not currently operational. We expect to publish the new guidance by the Summer of 2022. The delay in publishing the new guidance has been caused by the need to develop a new online application system to meet the additional requirements of the affordability test for overseas applicants.</p><p>An applicant can still apply for a fee waiver, but their application will be put on hold pending the revised guidance. Consideration will be given as to whether the need to travel to the UK is urgent, and if so, the fee waiver application will be assessed. Each urgent case will be considered on its individual merits.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 20/04/2022 08:49:35 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1455030

	registered interest
	date	28/03/2022
	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	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 companies required under section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 to produce modern slavery statements for the year 2021 that have not done so.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	148027
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/03/2022 answer text <p>Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 established the UK as the first country in the world to require businesses to report annually on steps taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains.</p><p>Organisations are currently required to ensure their statement has been approved by the board, signed by a director, and is available via the homepage of their website (if they have one). Organisations are required to produce a modern slavery statement to report on their financial year (not the calendar year) and our statutory guidance states that they should publish a statement within 6 months of their financial year end. Therefore, statements covering activity throughout the year 2021 may not have been published yet as organisations have up to 6 months after the end of their 2021/2022 financial year to publish their statement.</p><p>Historically compliance with section 54 has been high, but we continue to push for higher compliance rates. In 2019, the Home Office contracted the Business &amp; Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) to undertake an audit of compliance with Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The audit was concluded in January 2020 with data accurate up to this point. The high-level findings of this audit were published on 17 September 2020 in the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner’s annual report (available here: <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Findependent-anti-slavery-commissioners-annual-report-2019-to-2020&amp;data=04%7C01%7CMatthew.Chaudhry4%40homeoffice.gov.uk%7Ca79a1e4cf30b4c933b1508d9b3eb0c18%7Cf24d93ecb2914192a08af182245945c2%7C0%7C0%7C637738644356828460%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&amp;sdata=XI0oAU7HVt2QvpAf55kX2bX7MVQWxGIJ6Q2ee6qjFak%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-anti-slavery-commissioners-annual-report-2019-to-2020</a>).</p><p>To further drive compliance with section 54, the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/919937/Government_response_to_transparency_in_supply_chains_consultation_21_09_20.pdf" target="_blank">Government response to the Transparency in Supply Chains consultation</a>, published on 22 September 2020, committed to taking forwards an ambitious package of measures to strengthen the Act’s transparency legislation, including:</p><ul><li>Extending the reporting requirement to public bodies with a budget of £36 million or more;</li><li>Mandating the specific reporting topics statements must cover;</li><li>Setting a single reporting deadline by which all modern slavery statements must be published;</li><li>Requiring organisations to publish their statement on the new Government registry.</li></ul><p>The Government has also committed to introduce financial penalties for organisations who fail to meet their statutory obligations to publish annual modern slavery statements. As with the measures contained in the Government response to the transparency in supply chains consultation, this requires legislative change and will be introduced when parliamentary time allows.</p><p>In March 2021, the Government launched the modern slavery statement registry to radically enhance transparency by bringing together modern slavery statements on a single platform. The registry will provide a key tool for Government and others to monitor and drive compliance with section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. We have been encouraged by use of the registry. Since launch, over 7,300 modern slavery statements covering over 23,950 organisations have been submitted on a voluntary basis.</p> answering member constituency Redditch answering member printed Rachel Maclean question first answered 31/03/2022 11:40:10 answering member 4668 label Biography information for Rachel Maclean
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1452823

	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	Visas: Disclosure of Information
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in what circumstances her Department issues a visa to an applicant on condition that the applicant first signs a non-disclosure agreement.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	143545
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/04/2022 answer text <p>The Home Office does not, under any circumstances, require an applicant to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement, either while applying for permission to stay in the United Kingdom or when settling a litigation claim.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 26/04/2022 13:52:14 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1441333

	registered interest
	date	15/03/2022
	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, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of removing the requirement for Afghan refugees to submit their biometrics before entering the UK, as has been done for those fleeing Ukraine.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	140352
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2022 answer text <p>We remain committed to supporting Afghan nationals through the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme to come to the UK, as set out in the Afghanistan resettlement and immigration policy statement published on 13 September 2021. <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statement" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statement</a></p><p>We continue to recommend people in Afghanistan do not make applications and pay application fees at this time as they will not be considered until biometrics are provided. Those Afghans who are outside of Afghanistan and able to get to a Visa Application Centre to provide their biometrics are able to make an application in the usual way.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 140353 question first answered 23/03/2022 13:51:35 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster previous answer version 59028 answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1441337

	registered interest
	date	15/03/2022
	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, what steps her Department is taking to re-establish biometric service in Afghanistan for those seeking to apply for entry into the UK.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	140353
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2022 answer text <p>We remain committed to supporting Afghan nationals through the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme to come to the UK, as set out in the Afghanistan resettlement and immigration policy statement published on 13 September 2021. <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statement" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statement</a></p><p>We continue to recommend people in Afghanistan do not make applications and pay application fees at this time as they will not be considered until biometrics are provided. Those Afghans who are outside of Afghanistan and able to get to a Visa Application Centre to provide their biometrics are able to make an application in the usual way.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 140352 question first answered 23/03/2022 13:51:36 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster previous answer version 59031 answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms