Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the undocumented migrants arriving on small boats in 2022 were first registered in other countries as asylum seekers or immigrants; what were the numbers in the top 10 countries of such registrations; and what were the numbers by nationality from the top 25 countries of origin of such migrants into the UK.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
Figures relating to registration of asylum claims in third countries are not available in a reportable format and to provide the information could only be done at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Penn on 19 February (HL5309), what checks on amounts of duty-free tobacco and alcohol the Border Force carry out on passengers from the Republic of Ireland entering Great Britain by ferry or aircraft to ensure excise duty is paid where allowances are exceeded.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
Border Force is committed to detecting those who would attempt to evade Duty Free controls and deploys to risk using tested but continually assessed intelligence and targeting techniques.
Border Force does not record or publish information relating to the number of checks carried out against specific cohorts of arrivals into Great Britain. Doing so would publicise operational practices which would be used to assist in the evasion of customs controls and compromise Border security.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many small boats used by illegal immigrants crossing the channel have been seized in the past two years; in what way those boats have been disposed of; and what assessment they have made of their origins and patterns involved in their purchase.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
All small boats used for illegal crossings vessels are seized by Border Force, assessed for evidential value, and are held by Border Force until completion of any criminal investigation activities.
The boats are disposed of by Border Force’s approved contractors and, where appropriate, any suitable materials are recycled. Although the Home Office does research the origins of migrant vessels it would be inappropriate to go into the findings of those enquiries.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with the government of Ireland concerning the number of illegal migrants who have travelled via ferry from France to Dublin, and then travelled by bus to Northern Ireland followed by travel by ferry to Great Britain; and in any such discussions, whether the number of migrants taking this route in each of the last two years was confirmed and, if so, what is this number.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
There is a high level of cooperation on border security between both the UK and Irish Governments to ensure we are taking all the necessary measures to protect and secure the Common Travel Area (CTA).
As now, there will be no routine immigration controls on CTA journeys and none whatsoever on the land border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
However, intelligence-led operations to target potential abuse of CTA routes continues. Anyone identified attempting to circumvent UK border controls is liable to be removed, if they are not lawfully present in the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to prevent migrants coming to the UK illegally by travelling from the Republic of Ireland and then to mainland Great Britain.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
There is a high level of cooperation on border security between both the UK and Irish Governments to ensure we are taking all the necessary measures to protect and secure the Common Travel Area (CTA).
As now, there will be no routine immigration controls on CTA journeys and none whatsoever on the land border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
However, intelligence-led operations to target potential abuse of CTA routes continues. Anyone identified attempting to circumvent UK border controls is liable to be removed, if they are not lawfully present in the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many asylum seekers have reached the UK having first registered in a Council of Europe country in each of the last five years; of those asylum seekers, how many first registered in Ireland; and from where did the asylum seekers who first registered in Ireland originally travel.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold data on asylum seekers who have previously registered in a Council of Europe Country. However, data is available through the Eurodac system for asylum seekers who have previously made an asylum claim in EU+ (EU, Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein and Switzerland) countries and then made a further claim in UK. This data is only available for the period prior to the UK leaving the EU and the Eurodac system. The relevant available data has been extracted and presented in the table below. It is subject to the same caveats as the Eurodac system from which it is derived. As such, it is a count of Eurodac ‘hits’, not individuals or claims. For example, an individual applying once in the UK, who has previously applied once each in Germany, France and Italy, would produce 3 hits, one for each prior application. Data on where journeys began is unfortunately unavailable.
Year | Eurodac hits linked to EU+ | Eurodac hits linked to Ireland | Source (linked) |
2020 | 19,599 | 948 | |
2019 | 13,089 | 703 | |
2018 | 10,057 | 355 | |
2017 | 7,079 | 253 |
Note: Category 1 data against category 1 data only
The United Kingdom and Ireland have a regular dialogue relating to the operation of the Common Travel Area where issues such as border security risks and shared immigration challenges are discussed.
Those who fear persecution should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach – this is the fastest route to safety. Ireland is a safe country and, as such, it would not be appropriate for individuals to travel to the UK from Ireland to claim asylum.
The Government has previously raised with Ireland concerns about individuals exploiting the Common Travel Area generally to reach the United Kingdom to seek asylum, most recently in May of this year.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to maintain their suspension of the Council of Europe Agreement on the Abolition of Visas for Refugees; whether they have expressed concerns to the government of Ireland about refugees obtaining international protection in Dublin having reached the Irish Republic by means of the European Agreement, then using the Common Travel Area to reach the United Kingdom to seek asylum; and what discussions they have had with the government of Ireland regarding their willingness to suspend the Agreement.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Her Majesty’s Government suspended the Council of Europe Agreement on the Abolition of Visas for Refugees (“the Agreement”) in 2003 on public order and security grounds. The government of Ireland suspended operation of the Agreement for a period of 12 months on 19 July 2022.
The United Kingdom and Ireland have a regular dialogue relating to the operation of the Common Travel Area where issues such as border security risks and shared immigration challenges are discussed. Those who fear persecution should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach – this is the fastest route to safety.
Ireland is a safe country and, as such, it would not be appropriate for individuals to travel to the UK from Ireland to claim asylum.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to standardise the definition of a victim of terrorism across the UK.
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 recognises a victim of terrorism as anyone who has suffered harm, including physical, mental and emotional harm, as a consequence of a terrorist attack. This includes those who are injured, bereaved families, and witnesses. We recognise that many people can be affected by terrorist attacks in many ways and are committed to ensuring that all victims receive comprehensive support. To strengthen the support available the Home Secretary publicly committed to conducting an internal review of the support provided to victims of terrorism. Whilst this review will not consider changing the definition of a victim it will consider the support provided to victims of terrorism.
Support for victims of the Troubles in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter and there is separate legislation for the provision of this support under The Victims and Survivors (NI) Order 2006.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what date his Department began the practice of using Zimbabwean embassy officials to interview Zimbabwean failed asylum seekers; what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the safety of those individuals of engaging with the Zimbabwean Embassy; what discussions he has had with the Zimbabwean diaspora on this practice; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
In the second half of 2018, the Government, with officials from the Embassy of Zimbabwe, started co-operating on redocumenting Zimbabwean nationals without a right to remain in the UK, including Foreign National Offenders;
Re-documentation interviews with officials from countries of return are a standard part of Home Office process where an interview is required by the receiving country to enable the confirmation of nationality and identity, in order for a travel document to be produced.
In conjunction with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Home Office officials routinely meet with the representatives from the Zimbabwe Diaspora Focus Group (ZDFG). The most recent meeting was in October 2018, at which immigration returns to Zimbabwe was discussed.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unexplained wealth orders are in force; and what the total value of the assets covered by those orders is.
Answered by Ben Wallace
Three UWOs have been applied for, and all granted, since the power came into force in January. All these applications were made without notice and heard in private.
They relate to the investigation of assets totalling £22 million. Interim freezing orders have also been obtained against the properties, in London and the South East, so they cannot be sold, As the orders all relate to ongoing investigations, it would be inappropriate to release further information at the moment. The annual Asset Recovery Statistical Bulletin, published on 13 September, will include data on the number of UWOs obtained in the previous financial year.