Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to abolish the distinction between the “true cohort” and “extra cohort” of EU citizens who have been awarded settled status.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The UK implemented the Withdrawal Agreement more generously than required by not testing whether EU citizens resident in the UK by 31 December 2020 were exercising a qualifying Treaty right in accordance with Directive 2004/38/EC.
This simplified the application process for the EU Settlement Scheme by avoiding the need for applicants to meet complex evidential requirements. No one has any lesser rights by virtue of their EUSS status than they are entitled to under the Withdrawal Agreement.
The UK has always sought to treat the same those who do meet the stricter eligibility requirements under the Withdrawal Agreement, and those who do not. Where minimal differences in treatment have arisen for pre-settled status holders as a result of litigation, we seek to minimise these through casework.
However, the UK cannot unilaterally expand the scope of the Withdrawal Agreement to bring such people within its scope.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Hanson of Flint on 24 October (HL Deb col 742) , whether they intend to introduce physical proof of immigration status for EU citizens living in the UK; and if so, when.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
eVisas are a key part of delivering a border and immigration system which will be more digital and streamlined by 2025, a change that will enhance the applicant’s experience, deliver excellent value, and increase the immigration system’s security and efficiency.
Successful EUSS applicants are given a UK Visas and Immigration account, which they can use to view and share their immigration status with others securely and in real-time. The Withdrawal Agreement explicitly allows for status to be provided in digital form. We will continue working towards a border and immigration system that is digital by default, and issuing immigration status in the form of an eVisa is part of this.
As with all such major change programmes, we are keeping our eVisa systems under review during the implementation period to identify and address any emerging issues.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Hanson of Flint on 24 October (HL Deb col 744), when they will carry out their review of the digitisation of immigration status; and when the results will be known.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
eVisas are a key part of delivering a border and immigration system which will be more digital and streamlined by 2025, a change that will enhance the applicant’s experience, deliver excellent value, and increase the immigration system’s security and efficiency.
Successful EUSS applicants are given a UK Visas and Immigration account, which they can use to view and share their immigration status with others securely and in real-time. The Withdrawal Agreement explicitly allows for status to be provided in digital form. We will continue working towards a border and immigration system that is digital by default, and issuing immigration status in the form of an eVisa is part of this.
As with all such major change programmes, we are keeping our eVisa systems under review during the implementation period to identify and address any emerging issues.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to improve crime reporting in relation to national heritage, including through the development of a heritage crime marker to highlight protected sites and other cultural property in police call handling.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Crime Survey for England and Wales shows neighbourhood crime is down 48% compared to findings from the year ending March 2010; however, this Government recognises the significant impact crimes affecting heritage sites can have.
The Home Office is working closely with Historic England to prevent and tackle theft from historic buildings, monuments and sites, and through the established, expert Stolen Goods Working Group, is collaborating with policing and other partners, to deliver a programme of work that will make it harder for criminals to profit financially from acquisitive crime, including heritage crime.
The Home Office has encouraged the police, as part of their neighbourhood policing commitment, to work with communities to develop an understanding of the scale and extent of these crimes, whilst welcoming their commitment made last year to pursue all reasonable lines of enquiry so more perpetrators can be bought to justice.
In addition, crime prevention advice is published by Secured By Design, the police security initiative, including advice on how to improve the security of buildings and their surroundings, here: Secured by Design - Secured by Design.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to combat the theft of stone from historic sites.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Crime Survey for England and Wales shows neighbourhood crime is down 48% compared to findings from the year ending March 2010; however, this Government recognises the significant impact crimes affecting heritage sites can have.
The Home Office is working closely with Historic England to prevent and tackle theft from historic buildings, monuments and sites, and through the established, expert Stolen Goods Working Group, is collaborating with policing and other partners, to deliver a programme of work that will make it harder for criminals to profit financially from acquisitive crime, including heritage crime.
The Home Office has encouraged the police, as part of their neighbourhood policing commitment, to work with communities to develop an understanding of the scale and extent of these crimes, whilst welcoming their commitment made last year to pursue all reasonable lines of enquiry so more perpetrators can be bought to justice.
In addition, crime prevention advice is published by Secured By Design, the police security initiative, including advice on how to improve the security of buildings and their surroundings, here: Secured by Design - Secured by Design.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Murray of Blidworth on 4 July (HL8644), what is the nature of the arrangement between the UK and France to which he referred regarding schools trips from France to the UK; and when this arrangement will come into operation.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
At the Leaders’ summit in Paris on 10 March 2023 the UK committed to ease the travel of school groups to the UK by making changes to documentary requirements for schoolchildren on organised trips from France.
We are currently working through the details of implementation and more information will be provided in due course.
We would consider negotiating with other countries should they approach us with an interest in making similar arrangements.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Murray of Blidworth on 4 July (HL8644), what discussions they intend to have with other EU countries about the possibility of making arrangements for school trips from those countries to the UK.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
At the Leaders’ summit in Paris on 10 March 2023 the UK committed to ease the travel of school groups to the UK by making changes to documentary requirements for schoolchildren on organised trips from France.
We are currently working through the details of implementation and more information will be provided in due course.
We would consider negotiating with other countries should they approach us with an interest in making similar arrangements.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Murray of Blidworth on 19 June when he stated that "it is open to other Governments to negotiate an arrangement of the kind we have now negotiated with the French Government" (HL Deb col 3), what steps they will take to make similar arrangements with other EU countries; whether such arrangements regarding school visits will be made with all EU countries; and what is the timescale for the concluding of those agreements.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
The agreement we have is specific to France. Our deal with France has elevated our cooperation on illegal migration to unprecedented levels. We are also deepening our cooperation with European allies upstream and in our near-abroad to tackle illegal migration at every stage of the process.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for Digital and Culture on 2 February (145005), with reference to the phrase "permanent short stay visa waiver for all current and future EU Member States", whether the term "permanent" was defined during the negotiations on the UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The EU’s proposal on a visa waiver was set out in their draft agreement, published in March 2020. Article MOBI.4(1) contained commitments on the provision of reciprocal visa free travel for short stays:
“1. The Parties shall provide for reciprocal visa-free travel for citizens of the Union and citizens of the United Kingdom when travelling to the territory of the other party for short stays of a maximum duration as defined in the Parties’ domestic legislation, which shall be at least 90 days in any 180-day period.”
This text is available on the Commission website at:
https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/draft-text-agreement-new-partnership-united-kingdom_en
The commitment applies to ‘citizens of the Union’ and is not qualified by a date of expiry.
Asked by: Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will consider implementing a secure QR code system for proof of settled status for EU citizens resident in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
We continue to welcome feedback on how we can improve our services.
Home Office officials have met with the 3million group to discuss the use of a QR code system and are now considering the feasibility of the suggested approach.