Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many temporary work visas for EU nationals have been approved this year; and how many have been requested by (1) HGV drivers, (2) fuel tanker drivers, (3) fruit and vegetable pickers, and (4) slaughterhouse workers.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We operate a global immigration system which is open to both EU and non-EU nationals.
Details of the numbers of temporary work visas granted for HGV drivers, pork butchers, and workers in edible horticulture will be published in the usual way via the Home Office’s quarterly immigration statistics.
With regards to fuel tanker drivers, I refer the Noble Lord to my response to the Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale’s question of 26 October (63690).
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to Written Answer by Lord Greenhalgh on 24 March (HL14079), prior to the Fire Safety Bill being introduced to Parliament, what changes were made to the draft text of the Bill to satisfy representations made by (1) Her Majesty The Queen, (2) His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, or (3) their representatives; and what plans they have to publish their correspondence with (a) Her Majesty The Queen, (b) His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, or (c) their representatives, related to draft text of the Fire Safety Bill.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
There were no changes made or requested to the text of the Fire Safety Bill by any member of the Royal Household, therefore, the government has no plans to publish any correspondence.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Greenhalgh on 9 March (HL13562), what changes, if any, they made to the Fire Safety Bill after discussions with the Royal Estate following their request for Queen's Consent; for what purpose any such changes were made; and with whom the discussions were held.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Home Office sought Queen’s Consent for the Fire Safety Bill on 20 February 2020. This was obtained by the Royal Estate on 9 March 2020 and there were no changes to the Bill.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with (1) Her Majesty The Queen, (2) His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, or (3) their representatives, relating to their Consent to the Fire Safety Bill; what changes, if any, were made to the Bill as a result of any such discussions; and for what purpose were such changes made.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Obtaining Queen’s Consent is a normal procedure before the introduction of Bills which may affect the Royal Estate. The rationale for seeking this for the Fire Safety Bill was that parts of the Royal Estate may need to have their fire risk assessments updated following the passage of the Bill. The Home Office sought this on 20 February 2020 and obtained Queen’s Consent on 9 March 2020.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the current costs of obtaining (1) short-term work visas, and (2) certificates of sponsorship, for EU citizens seeking to work in the UK; why there are different charges for citizens of different EU member states; and whether this policy reflects the UK’s commitment in the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement to treat the EU as a bloc for short-term visit visas.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Details of all Immigration and Nationality Fees are published on gov.uk at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visa-regulations-revised-table/home-office-immigration-and-nationality-fees-31-january-2021.
The UK has long standing arrangements in its legislation for the nationals of countries which have ratified the 1961 Council of Europe’s Social Charter (CESC) to qualify for a fee reduction for visa applications to come to work in the UK.
Nationals of the 26 countries which have signed and ratified the CESC are eligible for a reduction of £55 to their application fee if they are applying for a visa under a work route. Where the applicant is required to have a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) from their employer, the CoS can be issued free of charge.
Details of the routes which qualify for a reduced fee are published at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fee-arrangements-for-cesc-nationals/fee-arrangements-for-cesc-nationals.
The fee reduction of £55 only applies to the main applicant, it does not apply to dependants.
There is no visa requirement for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens visiting the UK for up to 180 days. The UK-EU TCA obliges the UK to treat all EU citizens as a bloc for the purposes of imposing any short term visit visa requirement.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 19 January (HL12090), how many drivers in vehicles with non-UK number plates were identified as committing a speeding offence in the 2019/20 financial year; and how many of those drivers were fined.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of fixed penalty notices (FPNs) issued for speed limit offences. These data can be found in the ‘Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, which can be accessed here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales
Information on the nationality of number plates connected to speeding offences is not collected or held by the Home Office.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much was spent on consultancy services by the Home Office and its related agencies in the 2019/20 financial year; and what was the (1) cost of, and (2) reason for, each such contract.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The 2019/20 Home of Annual Report and Accounts (page 89) shows spend on consultancy services, as set out in the table attached.
The Information on cost and reason for each such contract could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the scientific evidence behind the decision that certain groups of incoming travellers from abroad, including (1) healthcare, (2) agriculture, (3) transport, and (4) other business, workers should not be subject to a 14 day quarantine, depending on the purpose of their visit and the country of the start of their journey.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
From 8 June, all passengers arriving in the UK without having travelled through another part of the Common Travel Area are required to self-isolate for 14 days, apart from those on a short list of exemptions. Scientific advice and other considerations suggest that imported cases matter most when the UK has a low level of infection. Self isolation of those arriving in the UK helps to reduce the risk of imported cases forming a higher proportion of overall infections.
A small group of arrivals to the UK will be exempt from the self-isolation measure, in order to allow the UK to maintain essential supply chains and infrastructure and respect our international obligations.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government on what basis the National Counter Terrorism Policing Network included Critical Mass on their list of Left Wing and Associated Single Issues organisations in June 2019.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Counter-Terrorism Policing produce a range of guidance documents designed to assist frontline officers and counter terrorism colleagues in making informed decisions.
The document in question clearly says that it was produced to help police and close partners identify and understand signs and symbols they may come across in their day-to-day work.
As both Government and the police have said, protest groups are not extremist groups and membership of a protest organisation is not an indicator that an individual is vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism.
Clearly, the inclusion of protest groups in documents like these without context can be concerning, which is why the police’s swift response in clarifying their position is welcome.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government on what basis the National Counter Terrorism Policing Network included Greenpeace in their 'Signs and Symbols' document, published in June 2019.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Counter-Terrorism Policing produce a range of guidance documents designed to assist frontline officers and counter terrorism colleagues in making informed decisions.
The document in question clearly says that it was produced to help police and close partners identify and understand signs and symbols they may come across in their day-to-day work.
As both Government and the police have said, protest groups are not extremist groups and membership of a protest organisation is not an indicator that an individual is vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism.
Clearly, the inclusion of protest groups in documents like these without context can be concerning, which is why the police’s swift response in clarifying their position is welcome.