Our first priority for the UK\u2019s trade with developing countries is to deliver continuity in our trading arrangements on leaving the EU. The Taxation (Cross-Border Trade) Act enables the UK to put in place a trade preferences scheme for developing countries that maintains the same level of access as the EU's Generalised Scheme of Preferences. Our intention is to provide the Philippines with the same level of access as it receives under the GSP+ tier of the EU\u2019s GSP. As part of this we will expect beneficiary countries to continue to respect the conditions in GSP+.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4016", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir George Hollingbery"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Meon Valley"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "George Hollingbery"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-02-25", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-02-25T10:22:12.11Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "202"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "International Trade"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "International Trade"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-02-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Trade Agreements: Philippines"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether the Government plans to replicate the terms of the EU's Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus program for the Philippines when the UK leaves the EU.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4523", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Catherine West"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Hornsey and Wood Green"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Catherine West"} ], "uin" : "223206"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1063585", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Justice"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1063585/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The number of registered asylum appeals outstanding in the Immigration and Asylum Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal as at 1st<\/sup> January2<\/sup> in each of the years requested is as follows:<\/p> 2018<\/p><\/td> 6,407<\/p><\/td><\/tr> 2017<\/p><\/td> 10,143<\/p><\/td><\/tr> 2016<\/p><\/td> 10,497<\/p><\/td><\/tr> 2015<\/p><\/td> 4,838<\/p><\/td><\/tr> 2014<\/p><\/td> 2,045<\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table> <\/p> <\/p> <\/p> <\/p> <\/p> <\/p> 1 <\/sup>The data are Management Information taken from the tribunal\u2019s case management system. They do not form part of the published statistics.<\/p> ² Outstanding data on 1st<\/sup> January is at close of business on 31st December of the previous year.<\/p> <\/p> Tribunal statistics are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics<\/p> <\/p> HM Courts & Tribunals Service has worked extensively to reduce the outstanding caseload and improve timeliness for all appeal types in the Immigration and Asylum Chamber. This has seen the live caseload in the First-tier Tribunal more than halve from 64,800 to 31,500 between July 2016 and September 2018. The average duration has also improved from 52 weeks in the period July to September 2017 to 39 weeks in the period July to September 2018. For asylum appeals in the same period the average time has come down from 28 weeks to 25 weeks.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4362", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Edward Argar"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Charnwood"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Edward Argar"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-02-21", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-02-21T16:46:09.017Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "54"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2019-02-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Asylum: Appeals"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many pending tribunals involving asylum application cases there were on 1 January of each of the last five years.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4523", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Catherine West"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Hornsey and Wood Green"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Catherine West"}
], "uin" : "222575"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1063607", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1063607/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " Increasing pressures, including climate change, mean that tidal flood risk in the Thames Estuary will increase over time. The Environment Agency\u2019s (EA) Thames Estuary 2100 Plan (TE2100) sets out how to manage increased tidal flood risk across the Thames Estuary from now until the end of the century.<\/p> <\/p> The latest UK Climate Projections 2018 show that the highest projection of relative mean sea level rise for London is a 1.15m increase between 1990 and 2100. Whilst higher than the initial estimate of 90cm, this is well below the \u2018worst case scenario\u2019 of 2.7m in TE2100.<\/p> <\/p> In 2016, the first five year review of TE2100 was published and looked at indicators covering a wide range of tidal flood risk scenarios, including sea level rise, conditions of flood defences, development along the estuary and any physical changes within the estuary itself. The review showed tidal flood risk is increasing, as more people now live and work in areas which benefit from tidal flood defences. The EA estimates there are now 1.3 million people and £275 billion worth of property in areas of the Thames Estuary which would be at greater risk of flooding if defences were not in place. These increases are in line with forecasts on which TE2100 is based and confirm that it remains fit for purpose.<\/p> <\/p> A full review of TE2100 is scheduled for 2020.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4098", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Dr Thérèse Coffey"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Suffolk Coastal"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Dr Thérèse Coffey"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-02-22", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-02-22T11:15:56.903Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "13"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2019-02-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Thames Estuary: Floods"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of flood risk to the Thames Estuary.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4523", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Catherine West"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Hornsey and Wood Green"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Catherine West"}
], "uin" : "222592"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1059782", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Home Office"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1059782/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " We are committed to ensuring that asylum claims are considered without unnecessary delay, to ensure that those who need protection are granted as soon as possible and can start to integrate and rebuild their lives, including those granted at appeal. All asylum claims lodged in the UK are carefully considered on a case by case basis, based on their individual merits, against a background of relevant case law and up to date country information.<\/p> Until recently, our aim was to decide 98% of straight forward asylum claims within six months of the date of claim. However, many asylum claims are not straight-forward, which meant it was not always possible to make an initial decision within six months of the date of claim. Many of these cases had a barrier that needed to be overcome to make the asylum decision and many of these barriers were outside of the Home Office\u2019s control.<\/p>
Until recently, our aim was to decide 98% of straight forward asylum claims within six months of the date of claim. However, many asylum claims are not straight-forward, which meant it was not always possible to make an initial decision within six months of the date of claim. Many of these cases had a barrier that needed to be overcome to make the asylum decision and many of these barriers were outside of the Home Office\u2019s control.<\/p>
To promote a greater understanding and transparency of the asylum system, we have prioritised deciding older claims and those made by more vulnerable individuals, whose claims are more complex. This has resulted in a reduction in the proportion of claims decided within 6 months.<\/p>
We are engaging stakeholders as part of our plans to introduce new service standards which will help inform how we will prioritise asylum decision making in the future. This will seek to address the concerns that have been raised with the current arrangements, additionally as part of our wider strategy, we aim to increase the overall number of caseworkers to reduce the total number of outstanding claims.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4048", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Caroline Nokes"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Romsey and Southampton North"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Caroline Nokes"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-02-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "groupedQuestionUIN" : {"_value" : "220308"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-02-18T16:32:54.073Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Home Office"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Home Office"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2019-02-12", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Asylum: Applications"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department remains committed to making decisions on straightforward asylum applications within a target time of six months.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4523", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Catherine West"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Hornsey and Wood Green"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Catherine West"}
], "uin" : "220305"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1059783", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Home Office"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1059783/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
To promote a greater understanding and transparency of the asylum system, we have prioritised deciding older claims and those made by more vulnerable individuals, whose claims are more complex. This has resulted in a reduction in the proportion of claims decided within 6 months.<\/p>
We are engaging stakeholders as part of our plans to introduce new service standards which will help inform how we will prioritise asylum decision making in the future. This will seek to address the concerns that have been raised with the current arrangements, additionally as part of our wider strategy, we aim to increase the overall number of caseworkers to reduce the total number of outstanding claims.<\/p>
The Home Office does not publish data relating to the average waiting times for decisions to be made on straight forward and non-straight forward asylum claims, but does publish data on the percentage of asylum applications processed within the current service standard to decide 98% of straight forward asylum claims within 6 months of the date of claim.<\/p>