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1272953

registered interest
date	06/01/2021
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Agriculture: Seasonal Workers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 October 2020 to Question 98994, whether he has made an assessment of the effectiveness of the Seasonal Agricultural Workers pilot scheme; and when he plans to make an announcement on that scheme's future.
tabling member constituency	Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
tabling member printed	Stuart C McDonald
uin	132943
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2021 answer text <p>On 22 December 2020, the Government extended the Seasonal Workers Pilot for one year and expanded the number of visas from 10,000 to 30,000.</p><p> </p><p>The extension and expansion of the Pilot for 2021 will allow for further evaluation of the pilot, including how growers will reduce their reliance on migrant labour now we have left the EU<em>, </em>whilst also easing some of the pressure felt on farms when they are at their busiest. The first-year evaluation information will be published later this year.</p><p> </p><p>Defra is working closely with industry and the Home Office to better understand the effectiveness of interventions and to ensure there is a long-term strategy for the food and farming workforce beyond 2021.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis grouped question UIN 132876 132885 132886 question first answered 11/01/2021 14:41:34 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4393 label Biography information for Stuart C McDonald

1273767

registered interest
date	06/01/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	UK Border Force: Staff
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 additional UK border force staff that will be required to implement the UK EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
tabling member constituency	Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
tabling member printed	Stuart C McDonald
uin	133893
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2021 answer text <p>Border Force has the resources in place to meet anticipated overall operational requirements. Border Force recruited over 1,000 additional officers in preparation for the end of transition and continues to ensure maximum flexibility in their recruitment and deployment approach. Further staff will be in place in time for July 2021 when full customs import controls are implemented on movements of goods from the EU to Great Britain.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 15/01/2021 16:06:34 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4393 label Biography information for Stuart C McDonald

1273768

registered interest
date	06/01/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Criminal Records: EU Countries
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the cost of transitioning to replacement systems for (a) Eurojust, (b) Schengen Information System II and (c) accessing Europol databases.
tabling member constituency	Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
tabling member printed	Stuart C McDonald
uin	133894
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2021 answer text <p>The Home Office worked closely with operational partners to ensure they were appropriately funded for the end of the Transition Period. As a result, operational partners were appropriately staffed and resourced to implement the new law enforcement and criminal justice arrangements within the UK-EU Trade Co-operation Agreement. Following the recent Spending Review process, the Home Office continues to work with operational partners to ensure they have appropriate funding into the next financial year.</p><p>More widely, as part of the Spending Review process £363m has been provided in 2021/22 primarily to recruit 1,100 Border Force officers to deliver transit customs arrangements and to continue supporting law enforcement cooperation with EU Member States.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse grouped question UIN 133896 question first answered 15/01/2021 14:55:05 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
tabling member	4393 label Biography information for Stuart C McDonald

1273769

registered interest
date	06/01/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	European Arrest Warrants
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 are currently subject to outstanding UK requests under the European Arrest warrant.
tabling member constituency	Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
tabling member printed	Stuart C McDonald
uin	133895
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2021 answer text <p>The Home Office does not hold the information requested.</p><p><br>The National Crime Agency handles requests made through the European Arrest Warrant as well as those made under the new surrender arrangements.</p><p><br>Statistics on the European Arrest Warrant have been published by the National Crime Agency for each year of its operation. These figures are published at: https://nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/who-we-are/publications</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 11/01/2021 17:22:50 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
tabling member	4393 label Biography information for Stuart C McDonald

1273770

registered interest
date	06/01/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	European Arrest Warrants
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 cost of implementing new procedures to replace access to the European Arrest Warrant.
tabling member constituency	Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
tabling member printed	Stuart C McDonald
uin	133896
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2021 answer text <p>The Home Office worked closely with operational partners to ensure they were appropriately funded for the end of the Transition Period. As a result, operational partners were appropriately staffed and resourced to implement the new law enforcement and criminal justice arrangements within the UK-EU Trade Co-operation Agreement. Following the recent Spending Review process, the Home Office continues to work with operational partners to ensure they have appropriate funding into the next financial year.</p><p>More widely, as part of the Spending Review process £363m has been provided in 2021/22 primarily to recruit 1,100 Border Force officers to deliver transit customs arrangements and to continue supporting law enforcement cooperation with EU Member States.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse grouped question UIN 133894 question first answered 15/01/2021 14:55:05 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
tabling member	4393 label Biography information for Stuart C McDonald

1273771

registered interest
date	06/01/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Profession: Qualifications
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of the loss of mutual recognition of qualifications within the EU on the UK legal services industry.
tabling member constituency	Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
tabling member printed	Stuart C McDonald
uin	133897
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2021 answer text <p>Under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), the UK and the EU have agreed a framework under which both parties may agree arrangements on the recognition of professional qualifications, such as mutual recognition agreements. While frameworks like this are conventional practice in free trade agreements, the Government successfully negotiated improvements to those agreements, which are designed to make the system more flexible and easier for regulatory authorities, including those within the legal services sector, to use, should they wish.</p><p> </p><p>It is possible that some UK legal services regulatory authorities, professional bodies or associations might also seek to conclude other agreements with EU counterparts outside of this framework.</p><p> </p><p>The Government will continue to provide help and guidance to UK regulatory authorities and professional bodies on issues of mutual recognition of professional qualifications. As of 1 January 2021, UK-qualified professionals in the legal services sector who wish to supply services in the EU should seek recognition of their qualifications according to the local laws and regulations of individual Member States.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 14/01/2021 13:35:56 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4393 label Biography information for Stuart C McDonald

1272956

registered interest
date	30/12/2020
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Agriculture: Seasonal Workers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with (a) migrant representative organisations and (b) trade unions to assist (i) the evaluation assessing the impact of the Seasonal Workers Pilot in the agricultural sector; and (ii) the design of any future scheme to bring seasonal workers into UK agriculture.
tabling member constituency	Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
tabling member printed	Stuart C McDonald
uin	132944
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2021 answer text <p>On 22 December 2020, the Government extended the Seasonal Workers Pilot for one year and expanded the number of visas from 10,000 to 30,000.</p><p> </p><p>The extension and expansion of the Pilot for 2021 will allow for further evaluation of the pilot, including how growers will reduce their reliance on migrant labour now we have left the EU<em>, </em>whilst also easing some of the pressure felt on farms when they are at their busiest. The first-year evaluation information will be published later this year.</p><p> </p><p>Defra is working closely with industry and the Home Office – who engage with a wide range of stakeholders, including non-governmental organisations, when designing and implementing immigration policy – to better understand the effectiveness of interventions and to ensure there is a long-term strategy for the food and farming workforce beyond 2021.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 11/01/2021 14:48:18 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4393 label Biography information for Stuart C McDonald

1273029

registered interest
date	30/12/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Immigration Enforcement Directorate
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 reasons why British citizens were stopped by immigration enforcement teams more than any other nationality over the last two years in Leeds, Nottingham, Cardiff, Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverpool and London; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
tabling member printed	Stuart C McDonald
uin	132945
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2021 answer text <p>Immigration Enforcement operations including visits, crime reduction and street operations play a critical role in detecting and deterring immigration abuse and reducing the harm caused by illegal immigration, such as modern slavery, people trafficking and smuggling. Immigration Enforcement do not carry out random visits and nor do they stop individuals at random; all operational activity is intelligence-led.</p><p>Immigration Enforcement officers are empowered to carry out an in-country examination of a person to establish their immigration status where they reasonably suspect that the person is in breach of immigration law. Where a person shows an adverse reaction to an immigration presence, typically attempting to flee from premises when Immigration Officers arrive, an Immigration Officer may arrest a person if that adverse reaction gives them reasonable grounds to suspect they may be in breach of immigration law. The person, if British, would be de-arrested as soon as their nationality was established. An arrest of a British citizen could also occur following a criminal offence such as the obstruction of an Immigration Officer in the execution of their duty and for assaulting an Immigration Officer.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 11/01/2021 11:40:40 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4393 label Biography information for Stuart C McDonald

1273030

registered interest
date	30/12/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Visas: LGBT+ People
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of spouse/partnership visa applications in each of the last three years have been for same sex partners (a) in total and (b) in relation to (i) Uganda, (ii) USA, (iii) China, (iv) Brazil, (v) Pakistan and (vi) Australia.
tabling member constituency	Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
tabling member printed	Stuart C McDonald
uin	132946
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/01/2021 answer text <p>The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visa applications in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release</a></p><p>Data on the number of spouse/partnership visa applications are published in table Vis_D01 of the Entry clearance visa detailed datasets <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/managed-migration-datasets" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/managed-migration-datasets</a>which include nationality breakdowns. The data does not show whether the application was from a same sex partner as these do not have a separate visa endorsement.</p><p>Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relate up to September 2020. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’. <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">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</a></p><p>The data from the table mentioned above are outlined below.</p><p>Entry clearance visa applications as a partner or spouse</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>2017</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2018</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2019</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2020 Jan to Sep</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Family: Partner<sup>1</sup> total all nationalities</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>38,590</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>39,749</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>39,503</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>18,577</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>of which:</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Australia</p></td><td><p>726</p></td><td><p>848</p></td><td><p>761</p></td><td><p>358</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Brazil</p></td><td><p>500</p></td><td><p>521</p></td><td><p>555</p></td><td><p>206</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>China</p></td><td><p>992</p></td><td><p>940</p></td><td><p>982</p></td><td><p>298</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Pakistan</p></td><td><p>7,715</p></td><td><p>7,909</p></td><td><p>7,845</p></td><td><p>3,638</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Uganda</p></td><td><p>124</p></td><td><p>166</p></td><td><p>167</p></td><td><p>51</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>United States</p></td><td><p>2,540</p></td><td><p>2,744</p></td><td><p>2,649</p></td><td><p>1,269</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Family: Partner (for immediate settlement) total all nationalities</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>409</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>269</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>218</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>86</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>of which:</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Australia</p></td><td><p>40</p></td><td><p>3</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Brazil</p></td><td><p>3</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>China</p></td><td><p>3</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Pakistan</p></td><td><p>4</p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Uganda</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>United States</p></td><td><p>13</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="5"><p>Source: Home Office, Immigration Statistics year ending September 2020 Visa Table Vis_D01</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Table notes:</p><p>‘Family: Partner’ includes partners, spouses, Fiancé(e)s and proposed civil partners</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 12/01/2021 14:36:45 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4393 label Biography information for Stuart C McDonald

1273031

registered interest
date	30/12/2020
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Visas: LGBT+ People
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 on the willingness of an applicant for a same sex spouse/partner visa to submit the application of the processing of that application being out-sourced to a local company; and whether applications may be allowed to bypass that local company in certain circumstances.
tabling member constituency	Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
tabling member printed	Stuart C McDonald
uin	132947
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/01/2021 answer text <p>Commercial Partners have no involvement in visa decision-making, which is undertaken by UKVI Decision Makers only, and are unable to influence a visa decision outcome in any way.</p><p>Where Commercial Partners provide front end services to UKVI customers, customers also have the option of either uploading their supporting documents prior to their appointment or having these scanned by a commercial partner representative during the appointment.</p><p>UK Visas and Immigration also monitor the performance of the Commercial Partners who deliver services on behalf of the Home Office to ensure they comply with contractual service standards on applicant confidentiality, including providing equal treatment to all customers through The Equality Act 2010.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 12/01/2021 17:22:09 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	4393 label Biography information for Stuart C McDonald