Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 4 June (HL7632), whether breaching a deportation order constitutes a specific criminal offence; and if so, on what basis the provision of information on the number of such breaches meets the criterion for disproportionate costs.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
It is a criminal offence under section 24(A1) of the Immigration Act 1971 to knowingly enter the United Kingdom in breach of a deportation order. The offence attracts a maximum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment.
When assessing breaches of the disproportionate cost threshold, consideration is given to the volume of case records that would need to be reviewed and the time it would take to review those cases which is calculated at a flat rate of £25 per hour.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 4 June (HL7632), how many people who have been deported from the United Kingdom after (1) asylum application refusal, or (2) completion of a prison sentence, have returned to the UK (a) as illegal entrants in breach of their deportation arrangements, and (b) following completion of a sentence overseas, in the past year.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The requested data is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what evidence they have on the incidence of sham marriages in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government takes abuse of the spouse and partner immigration routes very seriously and is clear that family migration must be based on a genuine and subsisting marriage or relationship. The marriage referral and investigation scheme (the Scheme), introduced across the UK under the Immigration Act 2014, requires that all proposed marriages and civil partnerships where one or both parties could gain an immigration advantage from it are referred to the Home Office.
Under the Scheme, where we have reasonable grounds to suspect a sham relationship, the marriage notice period will be extended to allow for further investigation, and for enforcement or casework action to be taken where appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people who have been deported from the United Kingdom after (1) asylum application refusal, or (2) completion of a prison sentence, have returned to the UK (a) in breach of their deportation arrangements, or (b) following completion of a sentence overseas, in the past 12 months.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people who have been deported from the United Kingdom after (1) asylum application refusal, or (2) completion of a prison sentence, have returned to the UK (a) as illegal entrants in breach of their deportation arrangements, and (b) following completion of a sentence overseas, in the past five years.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The requested data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to establish an inquiry into the possible introduction of ID cards over a 10-year timeframe.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
No. ID cards are not part of the Government's plans and no such inquiry is planned.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce legislation to enable the prosecution of persons who prejudice the national security of the UK by acting as a covert agent for a foreign government.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
We are committed to introducing new legislation to ensure our security services and law enforcement agencies have the tools they need to disrupt state threats.
The Government is reviewing responses to the Public Consultation on legislative proposals to tackle state threats which concluded last year. Legislation will be introduced as soon as parliamentary time allows
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether a person knowing that they are carrying COVID-19, and knowing that they may be at risk of transmitting the virus to another person with or without the intention to cause harm, could be charged with assault.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
Self-isolation is a vitally important weapon in the battle against the spread of the virus, it ensures that friends, family, community, and NHS are protected. Therefore, a new legal duty was introduced in September 2020 requiring a person in England to self-isolate for 10 days if they tested positive for the COVID-19.
To increase compliance and ensure our domestic self-isolation regime is effective failure to self-isolate can result in an FPN of £1000 for the first offence. This increases to £2000 for a second offence, £4000 for a third offence and £10,000 for a fourth and any subsequent offence. Failure to pay a Domestic Self-Isolation Fixed Penalty Notice can be subject to criminal proceedings.
There may be some circumstances where someone could be charged with assault by risking harm to others in passing on COVID-19 but such charging decisions would be for the Crown Prosecution Service to consider.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 14 July (HL1629), whether someone (1) born in an (a) European Economic Area, or (b) European Free Trade Area, state other than the UK, (2) who carries a non-UK passport, (3) who is married to a UK citizen, and (4) has (a) resided, and (b) been employed, in the UK for over 20 years including paying taxes or drawing pension payments, would automatically have "UK immigration status" by dint of those characteristics; or whether they might still need to apply for it under the EU Settlement Scheme.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
An EU, European Economic Area (EEA) or European Free Trade Association (EFTA) national who was settled in the UK before 1 January 1973 may have acquired indefinite leave to enter or remain automatically under section 1(2) of the Immigration Act 1971.
Where they hold indefinite leave to enter or remain obtained in this way, or where an EU, EEA or EFTA national holds such leave obtained by applying for it under another immigration route, they do not need to apply for status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS), but they may do so if they wish given the benefits of doing so.
Indefinite leave to enter or remain granted under the EUSS (referred to as ‘settled status’) enables the holder to access additional rights in line with the Citizens’ Rights Agreements. For example, they can be absent from the UK for five consecutive years, rather than two years, before their settled status lapses, and they can sponsor certain family members to join them in the UK without meeting the requirements of the family Immigration Rules.
Where an EEA national was resident in the UK by 31 December 2020 based on free movement rights, they must apply to the EU Settlement Scheme for status under UK immigration law. The deadline for doing so was 30 June 2021, but late applications will be accepted where reasonable grounds exist for missing the deadline. This includes where someone has lived in the UK for many years and did not realise they needed to apply.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 14 July (HL1628), whether someone (1) born in the EU, (2) with an EU Member State passport, (3) who is married to a UK citizen, and (4) has (a) resided, and (b) been employed, in the UK for over 20 years, including paying taxes or drawing pension payments, would automatically have "UK immigration status" by dint of those characteristics; or whether they might still need to apply for it under the EU Settlement Scheme.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
An EU, European Economic Area (EEA) or European Free Trade Association (EFTA) national who was settled in the UK before 1 January 1973 may have acquired indefinite leave to enter or remain automatically under section 1(2) of the Immigration Act 1971.
Where they hold indefinite leave to enter or remain obtained in this way, or where an EU, EEA or EFTA national holds such leave obtained by applying for it under another immigration route, they do not need to apply for status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS), but they may do so if they wish given the benefits of doing so.
Indefinite leave to enter or remain granted under the EUSS (referred to as ‘settled status’) enables the holder to access additional rights in line with the Citizens’ Rights Agreements. For example, they can be absent from the UK for five consecutive years, rather than two years, before their settled status lapses, and they can sponsor certain family members to join them in the UK without meeting the requirements of the family Immigration Rules.
Where an EEA national was resident in the UK by 31 December 2020 based on free movement rights, they must apply to the EU Settlement Scheme for status under UK immigration law. The deadline for doing so was 30 June 2021, but late applications will be accepted where reasonable grounds exist for missing the deadline. This includes where someone has lived in the UK for many years and did not realise they needed to apply.