Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he plans to make representations to the European Union on Germany’s use of the Schengen Information System to prevent British national, Dr Ghassan Abu Sittah, from entering the Schengen area; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of that action on (a) Dr Ghassan Abu Sittah's and (b) other British-Palestinians' freedom of expression.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
I do not plan to make representations to the European Union on this matter.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will hold discussions with his (a) French and (b) Spanish counterpart on the potential merits of allowing UK citizens in those countries to (a) annually renew temporary long-stay visas, (b) upload (i) photographs and (ii) other visa documents online rather than attending appointments in person and (c) store biometric data for future visa applications for a five-year period.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The UK government remains supportive of any changes EU Member States make to their domestic visa systems which benefit UK Nationals living in and travelling to the EU.
The UK government continues to engage regularly with the European Commission and EU Member States on a wide range of mobility-related issues.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has made recent representations to his (a) French and (b) Spanish counterpart on long-stay visas for UK citizens who need to spend more than 90 days within a given 180-day period in those countries.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement provides for visa-free travel for short-term visits for each other's nationals. British citizens can travel visa-free and stay for up to 90 days in a rolling 180-day period, in accordance with the Schengen Borders Code. This is the standard length of stay that the EU offers to third countries. Whilst the Government would welcome any changes to visa systems which would benefit UK nationals, this is a matter for national governments and parliaments. The Government continues to engage regularly with the European Commission and EU Member States on a range of mobility issues.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, pursuant to the Answer of 23 April 2024 to Question 22020 on Ghassan Abu Sittah, whether he has (a) received information on the reasons that Germany issued a Schengen Area wide travel ban on British-Palestinian national Dr. Abu Sittah and (b) held discussions with his (i) German and (ii) French counterpart on that matter.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We have not sought or received information from the French or German Authorities on this matter, nor held discussions with them about it.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether additional funding is available to local authorities to provide services to assist people with Universal Credit claims where those services are not available through Citizens Advice.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Help to Claim (HtC) was developed and delivered from 2019, and continues to be delivered by Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland independently across England, Scotland, and Wales. A further £38m investment is planned for HtC for two years from April 2024.
HtC provides tailored practical support to anyone who needs it and it enables individuals requiring additional support to make and maintain their UC claim, up until their first correct UC payment. HtC supports customers through telephony and digital channels (including webchat). Where somebody is unable to make a digital UC Claim they will support that person to make a UC Claim by telephone. Those individuals who are unable to access support via these channels will be signposted to their local jobcentre, where staff will identify the right support to meet their needs, face-to-face.
Since April 2019, HtC has supported nearly 900,000 people.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential financial impact of trends in the level of enrolments of international students on universities.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The government seeks to ensure that there is a fair and robust migration policy, whilst maintaining the UK’s place as a top destination for the best and brightest students from around the world. The department remains committed to the ambitions set out in the government’s International Education Strategy to host 600,000 international students per year and to increase the value of education exports to £35 billion per year, both by 2030.
The department expects the UK to remain a highly attractive study destination. The UK has four universities in the top ten, and 17 in the top 100, worldwide. The UK has a highly sought after higher education (HE) experience, which is respected by students across the globe. The department is hugely proud to have met its international student recruitment ambition two years running.
However, the level of legal migration remains too high. As a result, on 4 December 2023, the government announced a new package of measures to reduce net migration and curb abuse and exploitation of the country’s immigration system.
The Office for Students (OfS), the independent regulator of the HE sector in England, continues to work closely with the Home Office, Department for Business and Trade, and other governmental departments to assess the impact of these changes on HE providers.
Universities are autonomous institutions responsible for managing their own budgets. The department also works closely with the OfS to understand the evolving landscape, including on risks relating to international students.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) the increase in (i) visa and (ii) Immigration Health Surcharge fees and (b) the removal of the ability of taught masters students to bring dependants on trends in the level of demand for graduate visas.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office produced Impact Assessments (IA) alongside the visa and Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) fee changes and the package of Student route reforms, including the change to dependant eligibility.
The Migration Advisory Committee are undertaking a review of the Graduate route. We will consider any evidence put forward by the MAC very closely.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the removal of the ability of taught masters students to bring dependents on trends in the number of overseas female applicants for graduate visas.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office considers its Public Sector Equality Duty in the development of all policy. An Impact Assessment (IA) was also produced for the student dependant reforms.
In addition, the Migration Advisory Committee are currently undertaking a review of the Graduate route. We will consider any evidence put forward by the MAC very closely.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the letter from the Chair of the Migration Advisory Committee of 12 March 2024 on the timescales for its review of the graduate route.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
It is important that we have clarity on the use of the Graduate route in a timely manner, which is why we asked the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to carry out a rapid review. We will consider the evidence put forward by the MAC very closely.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has made representations to his German counterpart on Germany's refusal to permit the entry of British-Palestinian surgeon Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
I have not made representations on this matter.