Asked by: Lord Ahmed (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the granting of United Kingdom visas is regulated to ensure that they are meeting their stated targets in relation to visas from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and China.
Answered by Lord Bates
Performance against service standards for visa processing is routinely monitored through internal performance management processes, and is also subject to external scrutiny from the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration and the Home Affairs Select Committee. Data on how UKVI is performing against its processing targets is published here: https://visa-processingtimes.homeoffice.gov.uk/y
Asked by: Lord Ahmed (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether restrictions were imposed on the travel of Narendra Modi; if so, whether such restrictions have been lifted; and if so, why.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Home Office do not routinely comment on individual cases. The Home Office has obligations in law to protect this information.
Asked by: Lord Ahmed (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have approved the withdrawal of religious support for detainees at Harmondsworth and Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centres.
Answered by Lord Bates
The provision of religious and spiritual support for detainees in immigration removal centres (IRC) is a statutory requirement of the Detention Centre Rules 2001, IRC Operating Standards and is a contractual or service level specification for all centre operators. These provisions have not and will not be withdrawn at any centre.
Arrangements for the observance of Ramadan are in place at all IRCs. This includes special catering arrangements to allow the breaking of the fast at the prescribed time. The Home Office is consulted about the arrangements to ensure that they are appropriate.
There have been no complaints about the amount of food provided at the Heathrow centres and catering provision will be monitored during Ramadan as it is throughout the year.
Asked by: Lord Ahmed (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of whether MITIE has provided adequate amounts of food to Muslim detainees at Harmondsworth and Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centres during the month of Ramadan and at the time of sunset.
Answered by Lord Bates
The provision of religious and spiritual support for detainees in immigration removal centres (IRC) is a statutory requirement of the Detention Centre Rules 2001, IRC Operating Standards and is a contractual or service level specification for all centre operators. These provisions have not and will not be withdrawn at any centre.
Arrangements for the observance of Ramadan are in place at all IRCs. This includes special catering arrangements to allow the breaking of the fast at the prescribed time. The Home Office is consulted about the arrangements to ensure that they are appropriate.
There have been no complaints about the amount of food provided at the Heathrow centres and catering provision will be monitored during Ramadan as it is throughout the year.
Asked by: Lord Ahmed (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will continue to provide religious and spiritual support for the detainees at Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre.
Answered by Lord Bates
The provision of religious and spiritual support for detainees in immigration removal centres (IRC) is a statutory requirement of the Detention Centre Rules 2001, IRC Operating Standards and is a contractual or service level specification for all centre operators. These provisions have not and will not be withdrawn at any centre.
Arrangements for the observance of Ramadan are in place at all IRCs. This includes special catering arrangements to allow the breaking of the fast at the prescribed time. The Home Office is consulted about the arrangements to ensure that they are appropriate.
There have been no complaints about the amount of food provided at the Heathrow centres and catering provision will be monitored during Ramadan as it is throughout the year.
Asked by: Lord Ahmed (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the hygiene and stability of conditions of the Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre; and what actions, if any, they have taken to ensure the hygiene and stability of the Centre.
Answered by Lord Bates
All immigration removal centres operated by the private sector, including Harmondsworth and Colnbrook, have their contracts managed by a central commercial team. The Home Office also has staff based in each centre to monitor contract delivery and compliance.
The current level of services provided, including hygiene, is consistent, compliant with relevant standards and is considered by the Home Office to be satisfactory. Meetings take place with the contractor, on a weekly, monthly and quarterly basis (at a more senior level) where any issues will be addressed.
Moreover, on 9 February the Home Secretary announced an independent review of detainee welfare in immigration detention, led by the former prisons ombudsman Stephen Shaw. The review is expected to report in September and will seek to identify whether improvements can be made to safeguard the health and wellbeing of detainees across the immigration detention estate, short term holding facilities, and those being escorted in the UK. The Government will publish the report by laying it before Parliament, alongside the Government’s response to the recommendations.
Asked by: Lord Ahmed (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the standard of the services provided by the private outsourcing group MITIE at Harmondsworth and Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centres.
Answered by Lord Bates
All immigration removal centres operated by the private sector, including Harmondsworth and Colnbrook, have their contracts managed by a central commercial team. The Home Office also has staff based in each centre to monitor contract delivery and compliance.
The current level of services provided, including hygiene, is consistent, compliant with relevant standards and is considered by the Home Office to be satisfactory. Meetings take place with the contractor, on a weekly, monthly and quarterly basis (at a more senior level) where any issues will be addressed.
Moreover, on 9 February the Home Secretary announced an independent review of detainee welfare in immigration detention, led by the former prisons ombudsman Stephen Shaw. The review is expected to report in September and will seek to identify whether improvements can be made to safeguard the health and wellbeing of detainees across the immigration detention estate, short term holding facilities, and those being escorted in the UK. The Government will publish the report by laying it before Parliament, alongside the Government’s response to the recommendations.
Asked by: Lord Ahmed (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage the international community to house refugees from the north of Africa.
Answered by Lord Bates
We believe resettlement of refugees should be a matter for individual countries. Resettlement has a place as part of the wider asylum process, including as a route for particularly vulnerable refugees, but resettlement of all refugees in North Africa is not practical and could not meet the needs of all genuine refugees. It also would not address the reasons for their flight and risks increasing concentrations of illegal migrants in North Africa. The only sustainable solution is to address the drivers of illegal migration: increasing stability and supporting the development of countries of origin; increasing the capacity of countries in the region to protect refugees so they may return home when circumstances permit; establishing a more effective process of returning illegal migrants; and cracking down on the ruthless criminals who are playing so callously with human lives.
Asked by: Lord Ahmed (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for an extradition treaty between the United Kingdom and Pakistan.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Government will neither confirm nor deny whether it is considering or is involved in negotiations with a particular country over an extradition treaty.
The absence of a formal extradition treaty does not prevent the UK from requesting the extradition of an individual from another country. It is a matter for the law of that country whether it is able to respond to such a request.
Asked by: Lord Ahmed (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the likelihood of securing an extradition treaty between the United Kingdom and Pakistan.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Government will neither confirm nor deny whether it is considering or is involved in negotiations with a particular country over an extradition treaty.
The absence of a formal extradition treaty does not prevent the UK from requesting the extradition of an individual from another country. It is a matter for the law of that country whether it is able to respond to such a request.