Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing irregular migrants to make applications for asylum whilst still residing in (a) France and (b) Belgium.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The UK has a proud record of providing protection for those who need it. However, there is no provision within our Immigration Rules for someone to be allowed to travel to the UK to seek asylum or temporary refuge. Whilst we sympathise with people in many difficult situations around the world, the capacity of the UK is not unlimited, and we could not possibly consider protection claims from the very large numbers of people overseas who might like to come here. Those in need of immediate protection should take the fastest route to safety and claim asylum in the first safe country they reach.
There are several powerful reasons why allowing migrants to make applications for asylum from France and Belgium is not a viable option and could actually lead to adverse consequences.
The responsibility for asylum seekers and refugees lies with the authorities of the country in which they are present in accordance with their international obligations – in this case France and Belgium. EU countries operate the Common European Asylum System; a framework of rules and procedures based on the full and inclusive application of the Refugee Convention. The aim of this system is not just to ensure fair and humane treatment of applicants for international protection, but also to discourage secondary movements of people once they have reached safety, acknowledging the many problems that such movements create. There is therefore no reason why an individual who is residing in France or Belgium and who needs protection should not make their claim in France or Belgium and certainly no reasons why they should make the perilous onward journey to the UK. France and Belgium are both safe countries, so the protection they seek is already available to them.
The UK processing asylum claims in France and Belgium would also have the potential to create more harm, and actually support the smugglers. Dangerous journeys and the work of the despicable smugglers are not just confined to routes across the Channel. Vulnerable people, if they have an incentive to aim for France or Belgium as a means of entering the UK, would be encouraged to make dangerous journeys across the Mediterranean and over land to France and Belgium. It would create a new pull factor, motivating people to again entrust themselves to smugglers. Even where they may avoid the danger of a small boat, we know from heart breaking experience that journeys over land, for example in the back of lorries, can be equally as perilous. We cannot, and must not, do anything which supports the smugglers’ business model.
Our focus is on helping people directly from regions of conflict and instability, and we believe that our resettlement programmes are the best way to provide much needed support. Between 2015 and September 2023, over half a million people were offered safe and legal routes into the UK.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2024 to Question 8806 on Bibby Stockholm: Inspections, on what dates and where the inspections of the Bibby Stockholm were conducted by Plymouth Marine Office.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The inspection from the Plymouth Marine Office was conducted on 31 August 2023 in Portland, with the barge in its current location.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he is taking steps to coordinate the rollout of the Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme with the (a) EU Entry/Exit System and (b) European Travel Information and Authorisation System.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The UK ETA scheme was launched on 25 October 2023, to secure our borders and make the UK safer. The rollout of the ETA scheme will continue in 2024.
The EU Entry/Exit System and ETIAS are EU schemes, with separate and distinct rollout schedules. We understand that the EU Entry/Exit System is due to be implemented in autumn 2024. The ETIAS scheme will follow in mid-2025, by which point it is the Government’s ambition to have concluded the roll out of the UK ETA scheme.
The UK Government has regular talks with the European Commission and EU member states at both political and official levels to manage the impact of the introduction of the EU Entry/Exit System and ETIAS for British Citizens.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make it his policy to remove the entitlement of EU passport holders to use fast-track passport gates at UK airports.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We keep e-passport gate (eGate) eligibility under review and operate our border controls in the interests of the UK, balancing border security with passenger flow. EU and EEA passport holders are currently eligible to use eGates to enter the UK and we have no plans to change this. This would be in contradiction with our stated ambition to digitise the border by increasing the use of automation and eGates by those currently eligible and investigating options to expand eligibility to further cohorts.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 March 2024 to Question 19448 on Heathrow Airport: Immigration Controls, if he will publish the Equality Impact Assessments produced for the (a) Heathrow Change Programme and (b) proposed roster system for the wider public.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
An Equality Impact Assessment on the Heathrow Change Programme was published electronically to departmental trade unions on 4 August 2023.
An Equality Impact Assessment on the proposed roster was published electronically to departmental trade unions on 13 September 2023.
We do not intend to publish either of the Equality Impact Assessments further.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has to update the impact assessment for Electronic Travel Authorisation to include airside transit passengers.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Electronic Travel Authorisations deliver important security benefits. A blanket exemption to the ETA requirement for passengers transiting airside would fundamentally undermine the rationale of the scheme by creating a permission free route of travel into the UK which would be open to abuse.
We will keep our position under review to monitor the impact on transit as the scheme is rolled out.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had discussions with his (a) French and (b) Belgian counterparts on the use of European Union passport e-gates by British nationals in (i) the European Union and (ii) Gare du Nord station.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office continue to engage with European counterparts on expanding access to e-Gates for British nationals travelling to the EU.
The use of e-Gates for third country nationals is decided by EU Member States on a country-by-country basis. British nationals are already able to use e-Gates at Gare du Nord station.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled New tech partnership to stop the boats, published on 6 August 2023, when the Online Capability Centre became operational.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
Following the announcement by the Prime Minister of the new tech partnership to stop the boats on 6 August 2023, the Home Office and National Crime Agency (NCA) have strengthened the voluntary partnership with social media companies, Meta, YouTube, X/Twitter, to accelerate action to tackle people smuggling content online. We continue to explore further options, such as a ‘hackathon’ model to develop our innovative approach to break the business model of people smugglers advertising their services online.
To date we have successfully removed 98% of content flagged to social media companies, with over 9000 posts, pages and accounts removed since November 2021.
The Online Communications Centre (previously known as the Online Capability Centre) has been operational since October 2023 and with expertise in policy, investigations and intelligence and with access to a range of niche capabilities in tackling the online threat. We cannot comment on individual numbers of officers in classified roles.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the start and end times were of the two day-time and one night-time lock-in periods at Brook House IRC as of (a) 12 April 2024 and (b) 1 November 2023.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The dignity and welfare of residents across the entire immigration detention estate is of the utmost importance and the use of periods of time where individuals’ freedom of movement is restricted contributes to the maintenance of a safe and secure environment in our centres.
From 4 December 2023 the Home Office changed the lock-in times from 12.00pm-12:30pm and 5.00pm-5:30pm to 11:30am-12:30pm and 4:30pm-5:30pm. All residents need to be in their rooms for one hour between 11:30-12:30 and 4:30pm-5:30pm, with meal services provided at the end of these times. The Home Office requested this change to ensure that all residents are accounted for, that staff can conduct welfare checks on vulnerable residents, and that planned discharges can be carried out safely.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled New tech partnership to stop the boats, published on 6 August 2023, how many (a) posts, (b) pages and (c) accounts have been (i) removed and (ii) suspended as a result of the partnership with social media companies.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
Following the announcement by the Prime Minister of the new tech partnership to stop the boats on 6 August 2023, the Home Office and National Crime Agency (NCA) have strengthened the voluntary partnership with social media companies, Meta, YouTube, X/Twitter, to accelerate action to tackle people smuggling content online. We continue to explore further options, such as a ‘hackathon’ model to develop our innovative approach to break the business model of people smugglers advertising their services online.
To date we have successfully removed 98% of content flagged to social media companies, with over 9000 posts, pages and accounts removed since November 2021.
The Online Communications Centre (previously known as the Online Capability Centre) has been operational since October 2023 and with expertise in policy, investigations and intelligence and with access to a range of niche capabilities in tackling the online threat. We cannot comment on individual numbers of officers in classified roles.