Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements they have made to ensure (1) that council taxpayers entitled to the single person discount who host refugees from Ukraine do not lose the entitlement, and (2) that local authorities are compensated for any consequent loss of income.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Council Tax (Discount Disregards and Exempt Dwellings) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2022 were laid before Parliament on 11 April 2022 and provide that refugees with a Homes for Ukraine immigration visa must be disregarded when calculating their host’s entitlement to the single person discount. Protecting the host’s entitlement to a single person discount will not result in local authorities experiencing a loss of expected income.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether a person who is not present in the UK may make a claim for asylum before travelling to the UK; and if so, where in the (1) Immigration Rules, or (2) immigration policy, such provision is made.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
While we sympathise with the many millions of people facing difficult situations around the world, there are no plans to introduce a provision in the Immigration Rules for someone to be allowed to travel to the UK to claim asylum.
Our current policy is clear we will not consider asylum claims made abroad and there is no provision in the Immigration Rules for someone to be allowed to travel to the UK to claim asylum.
We already welcome vulnerable people in need of protection to the UK through our resettlement schemes and are standing up specific new migration routes in response to the situation in Ukraine. These schemes have provided safe and legal routes for tens of thousands of people to start new lives in the UK.
The UK has a proud record of providing protection for people who need it, in accordance with our obligations under the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights and will continue this record.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether a person may be granted a visa that cannot be cancelled for the purpose of coming to the UK to apply for asylum; and if so, in which paragraph of the Immigration Rules this provision is made.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
While we sympathise with the many millions of people facing difficult situations around the world, there are no plans to introduce a provision in the Immigration Rules for someone to be allowed to travel to the UK to claim asylum.
Our current policy is clear we will not consider asylum claims made abroad and there is no provision in the Immigration Rules for someone to be allowed to travel to the UK to claim asylum.
We already welcome vulnerable people in need of protection to the UK through our resettlement schemes and are standing up specific new migration routes in response to the situation in Ukraine. These schemes have provided safe and legal routes for tens of thousands of people to start new lives in the UK.
The UK has a proud record of providing protection for people who need it, in accordance with our obligations under the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights and will continue this record.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether dual British-Afghan nationals (1) are, and (2) will be treated as if they are, British nationals, for the purposes of relocation from Afghanistan to the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
A British national will always be treated as such, irrespective of whether they hold nationality of a second country.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment the (1) Cabinet Office, and (2) Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, have made of the impact of the UK not becoming a party to the Lugano Convention.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
The Government is committed to ensuring cross-border legal disputes can be resolved smoothly, in the interests of families, consumers and businesses both in the UK and across Europe. From 1st January this year cross border disputes are managed through the domestic arrangements of the UK and EU / EFTA states as well as our international agreements under the Hague Conventions.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the commitment in their report The end-to-end rape review report on findings and actions, published on 18 June, that no victim will be left without a phone for more than 24 hours, whether this will be achieved by (1) providing a replacement phone, or (2) extracting the required information within that period; and, if the latter, what technology will be used to do so.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Our ambition is to ensure that victims receive their own phone back within 24 hours in the majority of cases. The provision of a replacement will be a safety net in cases where it is not possible to return a phone quickly to guarantee victims are not cut off from their support network.
The technology to extract data from mobile phones varies between police forces. As part of our commitments in the end-to-end rape review, we are working with forces to provide a package of new technology to allow police to examine more devices at the scene. This means a faster, safer and more sensitive service for victims
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Court of Appeal's judgment of 26 May against the Secretary of State on the immigration exemption clause in the Data Protection Act ([2021] EWCA Civ 800); and what steps they intend to take in response.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We will not be appealing and will comply with the court’s ruling.
We are currently considering the next steps in order to do this.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to administer COVID-19 vaccinations in prisons and other places of custody.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Working together with our partners across the secure and detained estate, vaccinations in prisons and detention centres has begun - delivering to the top priority cohorts defined by the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisations, in line with the rest of the population. As set out in the United Kingdom COVID-19 vaccines delivery plan, Local Vaccination Services are co-ordinating and delivering vaccinations to people who are unable to attend a vaccination site, including prisons and other places of custody.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the role of Detention Gatekeepers in immigration removal centres.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
There are no plans to review the role of Detention Gatekeepers in immigration removal centres at this time.
The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration annually inspects how the Government manages vulnerable persons in detention. Should recommendations be made around the efficacy of the Detention Gatekeeper, they will be considered in line with Governmental priorities.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average salary of a full-time equivalent member of staff in an immigration removal centre.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Home Office staff working in immigration removal centres (IRCs) range from Administrative Officer grade, through to Assistant Director grade (Grade 7). The number of Home Office staff based in IRCs vary at each location depending on the operational requirements of the centre. Home Office structure and salaries transparency data (last updated May 2019) is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/structure-and-salaries-series.
The average salary of a full-time equivalent member of staff in an immigration removal centre is not held in a reportable format. To obtain this information would require detailed reporting against multiple cost centres and could only be obtained at disproportionate costs. The Home Office provide standard pay ranges by grade as set out in the table below, as of 1 July 2020:
Grade | National | London Provincial | London |
Administrative Officer (AO) | £21,431 (spot rate) | £22,356 (spot rate) | £25,626 (spot rate) |
Executive Officer (EO) | £24,883 min, £27,372 max | £25,773 min, £28,349 max | £28,654 min, £31,519 max |
Higher Executive Officer (HEO) | £30,817 min, £33,899 max | £32,173 min, £35,389 max | £35,054 min, £38,558 max |
Senior Executive Officer (SEO) | £37,450 min, £41,193 max | £39,068 min, £42,973 max | £41,950 min, £46,144 max |
Assistant Director (Grade 7) | £52,051 min, £57,254 max | £54,591 min, £60,047 max | £57,434 min, £63,175 max |
The Home Office uses private companies to manage immigration removal centres, except Morton Hall which is managed by HM Prison and Probation Service on our behalf. The details of the operating costs for each of these contracts, including staff salaries, is commercially confidential. However, the Home Office publishes payments in excess of £25K on its website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/home-office-spending