Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to offer Asia Bibi asylum in the UK; and, in reaching any decision, what consideration they have given to the likelihood of civil unrest in the UK in the event of her being given asylum in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
As the Prime Minister set out on 14 November, the release of Asia Bibi will be very welcome news to her family and to all those who have campaigned in Pakistan and around the world for her release. We welcome the assurances the Government of Pakistan has given on keeping her and her family safe and it is important that all countries seek to uphold the rule of law and afford security and protection for the rights of all citizens irrespective of faith or belief.
It is a longstanding Government policy not to comment on individual cases. In accordance with our duty of confidentiality, we cannot confirm whether an asylum claim has been received or the outcome of such a request. Departing from this policy may put individuals and their family members in danger.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have received an application for asylum from Asia Bibi; and if so, what was their response.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
As the Prime Minister set out on 14 November, the release of Asia Bibi will be very welcome news to her family and to all those who have campaigned in Pakistan and around the world for her release. We welcome the assurances the Government of Pakistan has given on keeping her and her family safe and it is important that all countries seek to uphold the rule of law and afford security and protection for the rights of all citizens irrespective of faith or belief.
It is a longstanding Government policy not to comment on individual cases. In accordance to our duty of confidentiality, we cannot confirm whether an asylum claim has been received or the outcome of such a request. Departing from this policy may put individuals and their family members in danger.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse will consider cases of sexual grooming in the UK, including an examination of the particular characteristics of the perpetrators.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
On 25 April 2018 the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse published details of the areas it will investigate and research in its interim report - https://www.iicsa.org.uk/reports/interim.
The Inquiry is independent of government and its independence is crucial to its effectiveness. It is for the Inquiry to decide how to conduct its investigations within its terms of reference. As a statutory inquiry, under the Inquiries Act 2005, it has the powers and autonomy it needs to fulfil its important role of getting to the truth, exposing what has gone wrong and learning lessons for the future.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse will include an examination of cases of honour-based abuse in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
On 25 April 2018 the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse published details of the areas it will investigate and research in its interim report - https://www.iicsa.org.uk/reports/interim.
The Inquiry is independent of government and its independence is crucial to its effectiveness. It is for the Inquiry to decide how to conduct its investigations within its terms of reference. As a statutory inquiry, under the Inquiries Act 2005, it has the powers and autonomy it needs to fulfil its important role of getting to the truth, exposing what has gone wrong and learning lessons for the future.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the protection offered to victims of grooming gangs in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
This Government attaches the highest priority to tackling all forms of sexual exploitation and to ensuring that all victims, whether they are a child or an adult, get the protection and support they need.
Police have a range of powers to protect children from child sexual exploitation, including Sexual Harm Prevention Orders, Sexual Risk Orders, Slavery and Trafficking Risk Orders and Child Abduction Warning Notices. To help local agencies make best use of these and other powers, we will publish a child exploitation toolkit, setting out the full range of powers available to police and local partners to protect victims and disrupt offenders.
We are committed to ensuring that victims receive quality support when and where they need it. In each of the last three years the Government has allocated around £7.2m in funding to sexual violence support services to provide independent, specialist support to female and male victims of sexual violence, including victims of child sexual abuse. This includes £1.7m to rape support services across England and Wales to provide specialist support to victims of child sexual abuse and exploitation. A further £4.7m has been allocated to Police and Crime Commissioners specifically to commission services supporting victims of child sexual abuse and exploitation.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they offer to victims of grooming gangs in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
This Government attaches the highest priority to tackling all forms of sexual exploitation and to ensuring that all victims, whether they are a child or an adult, get the protection and support they need.
Police have a range of powers to protect children from child sexual exploitation, including Sexual Harm Prevention Orders, Sexual Risk Orders, Slavery and Trafficking Risk Orders and Child Abduction Warning Notices. To help local agencies make best use of these and other powers, we will publish a child exploitation toolkit, setting out the full range of powers available to police and local partners to protect victims and disrupt offenders.
We are committed to ensuring that victims receive quality support when and where they need it. In each of the last three years the Government has allocated around £7.2m in funding to sexual violence support services to provide independent, specialist support to female and male victims of sexual violence, including victims of child sexual abuse. This includes £1.7m to rape support services across England and Wales to provide specialist support to victims of child sexual abuse and exploitation. A further £4.7m has been allocated to Police and Crime Commissioners specifically to commission services supporting victims of child sexual abuse and exploitation.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures are in place to support and rehabilitate victims of grooming gangs in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
This Government attaches the highest priority to tackling all forms of sexual exploitation and to ensuring that all victims, whether they are a child or an adult, get the protection and support they need.
Police have a range of powers to protect children from child sexual exploitation, including Sexual Harm Prevention Orders, Sexual Risk Orders, Slavery and Trafficking Risk Orders and Child Abduction Warning Notices. To help local agencies make best use of these and other powers, we will publish a child exploitation toolkit, setting out the full range of powers available to police and local partners to protect victims and disrupt offenders.
We are committed to ensuring that victims receive quality support when and where they need it. In each of the last three years the Government has allocated around £7.2m in funding to sexual violence support services to provide independent, specialist support to female and male victims of sexual violence, including victims of child sexual abuse. This includes £1.7m to rape support services across England and Wales to provide specialist support to victims of child sexual abuse and exploitation. A further £4.7m has been allocated to Police and Crime Commissioners specifically to commission services supporting victims of child sexual abuse and exploitation.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they consider Khartoum to be a safe place to which to deport non-Arab Sudanese migrants.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office’s assessment of the situation for Sudanese asylum seekers is set out in the relevant country policy and information notes, which are available at
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sudan-country-policy-and-information-notes.
As they set out, a consideration of whether it is safe for a person to return to Khartoum will depend on the individual facts of their case.
Country analysis and general guidance for Home Office decision makers on handling particular types of protection and human rights claims. This includes whether claims are likely to justify granting asylum, humanitarian protection or discretionary leave, and whether – if a claim is refused – it is likely to be certifiable as ‘clearly unfounded’ under section 94 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many of the White Helmets group and their families evacuated from Syria via Israel are now in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Together with international partners, the UK is working to resettle members of the White Helmets and their families. Any resettlement to the UK will be in line with the established UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) process for identifying and resettling the most vulnerable refugees. Our prime concern for those coming to the UK under our resettlement schemes is their safety and protection as they arrive in this country. We believe that one way to protect their privacy and support their recovery and integration is to limit the amount of information about them that we make publicly available.
Notwithstanding this the Home Office is committed to publishing data on arrivals in an orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics, in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government where in the UK members of the White Helmets group evacuated from Syria via Israel (1) have been, and (2) will be settled.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Together with international partners, the UK is working to resettle members of the White Helmets and their families. Any resettlement to the UK will be in line with the established UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) process for identifying and resettling the most vulnerable refugees. Our prime concern for those coming to the UK under our resettlement schemes is their safety and protection as they arrive in this country. We believe that one way to protect their privacy and support their recovery and integration is to limit the amount of information about them that we make publicly available.
Notwithstanding this the Home Office is committed to publishing data on arrivals in an orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics, in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.