Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what has caused the delay in publishing the report of the independent inquiry into the application of Sharia Law in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government’s independent review into the application of Sharia law in England and Wales is not delayed. The review chair, Professor Mona Siddiqui, is expected to submit her review report in the coming months.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect the independent inquiry into the application of Sharia Law in the United Kingdom to conclude; and when they expect the report to be published.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Professor Mona Siddiqui’s independent review into the application of Sharia law in England and Wales is expected to report to the Home Secretary in the coming months. The Government will consider the publication of the review and its response, once the review report has been submitted.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they intend to reply to a letter from the European Centre for the Study of Extremism sent on 27 February about requests for UK visas for Syrian officials.
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 is not aware of any correspondence from the European Centre for the Study of Extremism.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Greece on preventing radicalised refugees from entering the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
There is no provision in the Immigration Rules for people to travel to the UK to claim asylum and we have no plans to change that. An individual should apply for protection from the authorities in the first available safe country or through the United Nations Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
We work closely with European Union Member States to share best practice on preventing individuals from becoming radicalised and to share information relating to people of interest for law enforcement, immigration and border control purposes.
Individuals granted refugee status in another Member State are subject to the same visa requirements to enter the UK as other third country nationals. Any person arriving at the UK border is subject to stringent security checks and we will deny entry to individuals who present a risk to national security.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that non-Muslim civilians who have been forced to flee from Greek refugee camps are eligible to apply for refugee status 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)
There is no provision in the Immigration Rules for people to travel to the UK to claim asylum and we have no plans to change that. An individual should apply for protection from the authorities in the first available safe country or through the United Nations Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
We work closely with European Union Member States to share best practice on preventing individuals from becoming radicalised and to share information relating to people of interest for law enforcement, immigration and border control purposes.
Individuals granted refugee status in another Member State are subject to the same visa requirements to enter the UK as other third country nationals. Any person arriving at the UK border is subject to stringent security checks and we will deny entry to individuals who present a risk to national security.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what grounds visas were denied to Syrian Orthodox bishops, Bishop Nicodemus Dawad, bishop of Mosul, and Bishop Timotheus Moussa, bishop of the Monastery of St Matthew, who were invited to the consecration of the new UK Syrian Orthodox cathedral in the presence of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
All applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with the Immigration Rules. In order to safeguard an individual’s personal information and comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 the Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people in the United Kingdom on overseas domestic worker visas have, since 2012, been granted a residence permit, including grants of discretionary leave to remain, following a positive conclusive grounds decision that they have been trafficked.
Answered by Lord Bates
A manual review of a significant number of applications would be needed in order to provide an accurate response and this would incur a disproportionate cost to the public purse. Therefore we are unable to confirm the number of individuals in the United Kingdom who have been issued residence permits following positive identification as a victim of Human Trafficking who held leave as a domestic worker since 2012.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether anyone entering the United Kingdom accompanying an employer on a Domestic Workers in a Private Household visa since 2009 has disclosed abuse perpetrated by their employer.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Home Office does not collect data on disclosures of abuse by applicants for, or those entering the United Kingdom on, domestic worker visas. However, disclosures of abuse perpetrated by employers do occur. Analysis of Home Office management information indicates that of the 1,623 trafficking cases which were confirmed between May 2009 and May 2015, 71 were linked to people who had previously been issued an overseas domestic worker visa. This includes the Domestic Workers in a Private Household visa and the Private Servants in a Diplomatic Household visa issued under the International Agreement category of Tier 5 of the Points Based System. The Government has asked James Ewins, an expert on modern slavery, to carry out an independent review of the overseas domestic worker visas, which will consider whether they are effective in protecting potential victims from abuse. Mr Ewins is due to report in July.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether anyone applying to enter the United Kingdom accompanying an employer on a Domestic Workers in a Private Household visa since 2009 has disclosed abuse perpetrated by their employer.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Home Office does not collect data on disclosures of abuse by applicants for, or those entering the United Kingdom on, domestic worker visas. However, disclosures of abuse perpetrated by employers do occur. Analysis of Home Office management information indicates that of the 1,623 trafficking cases which were confirmed between May 2009 and May 2015, 71 were linked to people who had previously been issued an overseas domestic worker visa. This includes the Domestic Workers in a Private Household visa and the Private Servants in a Diplomatic Household visa issued under the International Agreement category of Tier 5 of the Points Based System. The Government has asked James Ewins, an expert on modern slavery, to carry out an independent review of the overseas domestic worker visas, which will consider whether they are effective in protecting potential victims from abuse. Mr Ewins is due to report in July.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures are in place to ensure that girls at risk of being taken abroad for the purpose of forced marriage are identified and assessed by professionals.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK is a world leader in tackling forced marriage, and the Government is committed to ensuring that girls are not taken abroad for the purposes of forced marriage. That is why, during the previous Parliament, the Home Secretary made forced marriage a criminal offence, which included taking extra-territorial jurisdiction for forced marriage offences.
We recognise that strengthening the law is only part of the solution. The Government’s Forced Marriage Unit is leading efforts to combat this unacceptable activity both at home and abroad. Measures include providing support and advice to professionals and victims through a public helpline, with the Unit assisting in 1,267 cases in 2014. We are providing further direct support to professionals, including schools and the Crown Prosecution Service, through an extensive outreach and training programme and the publication of statutory multi-agency guidance in July 2014.