Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why they require biometric data from people seeking refugee status having fled from Ukraine; what assessment they have made of decision by the government of the Republic of Ireland not to require biometric information from such refugees; and what plans they have to review the Common Travel Area in response to this different approach.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Secretary updated Parliament on 10 March about the government's support for people fleeing Ukraine.
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/home-secretary-update-on-support-for-ukrainians
The UK Government is firmly committed to maintaining the Common Travel Area arrangement for UK and Irish citizens. There is a high level of cooperation on border security between both the UK and Irish Governments to ensure all the necessary measures to protect and secure the Common Travel Area are being taken.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the factors enabling continued illegal immigration from France to England by boat across the Channel, (2) what, if any, impact the UK’s departure from the EU has had on those factors, and (3) whether the continued illegal immigration indicates that the UK has “taken back control” of its borders.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The National Crime Agency’s National Strategic Assessment of Serious and Organised Crime for 2021 includes a section on organised immigration crime and the use of small boats. The full assessment may be found here:
www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/who-we-are/publications/533-national-strategic-assessment-of-serious-and-organised-crime-2021/file
The assessment notes that, ‘The increase in small boats use is almost certainly a result of COVID-19 travel restrictions affecting freight and air transport, in addition to enhanced security around the UK-operated border controls at Calais, Coquelles and Dunkirk’ and ‘It is highly likely OCGs and migrants are attracted to the high success rate and low cost-high profit nature of small boats compared to HGV facilitation’.
The UK’s departure from the EU has not made a material difference to the methods of the criminal gangs or our joint activity with European partners to stop them. The UK and France share a history of cooperation on this issue, seen in our commitments under the Sandhurst Treaty and Small Boats Action Plan and most recently via the action agreed in the joint statement between the Home Secretary and Minister Darmanin on 20 July. We have an excellent relationship with our French counterparts and are grateful for their continued commitment.
Increasing numbers of French law enforcement officers, supported by UK funding, are patrolling beaches and are preventing more and more crossing attempts. Nearly 10000 crossing attempts have been prevented so far this year.
The Government’s Nationality and Borders Bill will seek to reform the system, including by deterring illegal entry into the UK, breaking the business model of criminal facilitation, and saving lives.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of COVID-19 PCR tests on illegal immigrants to the UK have returned a positive result; and of these positive samples, what percentage have now been genomically sequenced.
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 is following guidance published by Public Health England, Health Protection Scotland and the NHS with regards to COVID testing for migrant arrivals.
All migrants are tested on arrival with a lateral flow test, any refusing are treated as if infectious and isolated. Lateral flow testing is a fast and simple way to test people who do not have symptoms of COVID-19, but who may still be spreading the virus. Arrivals who present as symptomatic or who provide a positive lateral flow test are allocated to an approved quarantine site.
Due to the small possibility of false positives associated with lateral flow tests, any individual who receives a positive result at a residential short-term holding facility in England or an Immigration Removal Centre, will be offered a PRC test to confirm the result. Any detained individual with symptoms of COVID-19, or testing positive for COVID-19 will be placed in protective isolation for at least 10 days and Public Health England informed.
We do not hold information regarding the percentage which have been genomically sequenced as this is the responsibility of Public Health England.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether immigrants entering the UK from France illegally are required to have a COVID-19 PCR test upon detection by police or immigration officers.
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 is following guidance published by Public Health England, Health Protection Scotland and the NHS with regards to COVID testing for migrant arrivals.
All migrants are tested on arrival with a lateral flow test, any refusing are treated as if infectious and isolated. Lateral flow testing is a fast and simple way to test people who do not have symptoms of COVID-19, but who may still be spreading the virus. Arrivals who present as symptomatic or who provide a positive lateral flow test are allocated to an approved quarantine site.
Due to the small possibility of false positives associated with lateral flow tests, any individual who receives a positive result at a residential short-term holding facility in England or an Immigration Removal Centre, will be offered a PRC test to confirm the result. Any detained individual with symptoms of COVID-19, or testing positive for COVID-19 will be placed in protective isolation for at least 10 days and Public Health England informed.
We do not hold information regarding the percentage which have been genomically sequenced as this is the responsibility of Public Health England.
Asked by: Lord Balfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to assist members of the House of Lords on whom MI5 hold files to submit a request to see those files.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Under Part 4 of the Data Protection Act 2018, pertaining to Intelligence services processing, subjects of information held by a UK intelligence service can request this information from the relevant service. Where the data continues to be held, the intelligence services must consider each subject access request on its merits and provide a response accordingly, except where it would be damaging to national security to do so.