Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much investment has been made by NHS Property Services in Essex for primary care infrastructure, in each year since 2013.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The table below sets out the capital expenditure by NHS Property Services (NHSPS) on health centres and primary care facilities owned by NHSPS in Sussex and Essex since the establishment of NHSPS in April 2013. The figures exclude hospital buildings from which primary care services may be provided.
| 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | TOTAL |
Sussex | 27 | 961 | 146 | 25 | 1,159 |
Essex | 448 | 873 | 427 | - | 1,748 |
Total | 475 | 1,834 | 573 | 25 | 2,907 |
There has been no such investment in Basildon Borough since the inception of NHSPS in 2013.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much investment NHS Property Services has made in Basildon Borough for primary care infrastructure, in each year since April 2013.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The table below sets out the capital expenditure by NHS Property Services (NHSPS) on health centres and primary care facilities owned by NHSPS in Sussex and Essex since the establishment of NHSPS in April 2013. The figures exclude hospital buildings from which primary care services may be provided.
| 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | TOTAL |
Sussex | 27 | 961 | 146 | 25 | 1,159 |
Essex | 448 | 873 | 427 | - | 1,748 |
Total | 475 | 1,834 | 573 | 25 | 2,907 |
There has been no such investment in Basildon Borough since the inception of NHSPS in 2013.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of advertising the boundary commission consultations on commercial radio.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
None. The conduct of the boundary review is a matter for the four independent and impartial Boundary Commissions.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks to border security of dual nationals using international passenger survey or paper-based landing cards listing only a single nationality.
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 requirement for a passenger to declare their dual nationality status on arrival to the United Kingdom. A Border Force officer will examine the document a passenger chooses to present on arrival and complete the mandatory checks outlined in the Border Force Operating Mandate.
A Border Force officer will only grant entry to a passenger once they have satisfactorily established their nationality, identity and immigration status in the UK and that they do not pose a security risk.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how border security can be ensured without the use of paper-based international travel cards.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The UK operates a secure border. All passengers arriving on scheduled services from outside of the Common Travel Area must satisfactorily establish their identity and nationality to allow a decision to be taken on their eligibility for entry to the UK. Travel documents and ID cards are currently the internationally accepted means for doing this. Documents which also contain a biometric chip are regarded as more secure than paper-based documents alone as the chip allows a more accurate reconciliation of the individual to the document. There are no current plans to operate our border controls without the use of a document or card.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of fees for citizenship set by the Home Office was used to fund the Home Office’s assessment of citizenship applications for those applications assessed by local councils using the nationality checking service in each month since 2010.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Fees received by the Home Office in respect of Citizenship applications are not used to fund the Nationality Checking Service. This service is offered by Local Authorities who fund its provision from the fees they set.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what comparative assessment they have made of the different border security arrangements concerning passport checks for arrivals at airports and ports in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government works closely with Ireland on matters of border security. This work is intrinsically linked to the Common Travel Area (CTA), a special border-free zone encompassing the UK, Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.
To protect this arrangement there is a high level of collaboration between the UK and Ireland to strengthen the external border of the CTA. A joint programme of work includes the sharing of information and increased understanding of respective border arrangements, increased sharing and use of data to inform immigration and border security decisions, and the alignment of border policies and processes.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for relaunching a Life in the UK Advisory Group to reassess the effectiveness and impact of reforms such as the citizenship test and ceremony a decade after their launch.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Life in the UK Advisory Group provided key recommendations on establishing the current processes for those applying for, and being granted, British Citizenship. We have no plans to relaunch it.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of introducing English language proficiency exemptions for applicants for Indefinite Leave to Remain or citizenship because of nationality.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
No assessment has been made of introducing English language proficiency exemptions for applicants because of nationality.
All those applying for indefinite leave to remain under a provision where knowledge of language and life in the UK (KoLL) is a requirement, and all those applying for naturalisation as a British citizen, must meet KoLL. Exemptions to this requirement are primarily based on the applicant’s inability to prepare for or sit the test. Where an applicant has a physical or medical condition which would make it unreasonable to expect them to undertake the test, they can be exempted. Exemptions also exist on the basis of age.
There are no exemptions from KoLL due to a person’s nationality. A person who is a national of a majority English-speaking country will, however, be able to use this to demonstrate that they meet the English language part of the KoLL requirement.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Basildon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of granting Cornish protected minority status in relation to the Life in the UK citizenship test.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Life in the UK test is based upon our handbook – Life in the UK: A Guide for New Residents – which is available for all applicants to study as part of their test preparation. It was revised substantively in 2013, and took into account feedback received from previous applicants and others who had provided comments on it. The content of the handbook moved away from statistics and related information and put the emphasis on British history, culture and democracy. The test questions were revised at this time to reflect the change in emphasis.
We will consider whether it would be appropriate to make the test available in Cornish as part of the protected minority status.