Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the Home Office policy paper, Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, published on 17 November, what assessment they have made of the impact of stopping refugee family reunion on the number of women and children arriving in the United Kingdom by irregular routes.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government’s Asylum Policy Statement outlines the current challenges, the Government’s objectives, and a comprehensive package of measures to restore order, control, fairness and public confidence in the UK’s system. Specific Impact Assessments will be undertaken as policies are developed more fully. These will be kept under review to ensure that there are no unintended impacts on people with protected characteristics.
Further details on asylum reform, including support and contributions, will also be announced in due course.
The Asylum and Returns Policy Statement sets out the intention that we will review protection status for people who do not switch out of Core Protection. This is part of the wider package that seeks to incentivise people to switch (alongside the ability to earn down the time to settlement, and sponsor family members).
We cannot predict with any certainty what proportion of people will switch, although the system will be designed to ensure that switching is a viable option for the majority of people.
For those who do remain on Core Protection, reviews will be conducted on a targeted basis so that we can make the most efficient use of resources. The renewal stage will generally involve a simple security check, and we will set business rules to identify cases that warrant a manual intervention.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the Home Office policy paper, Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, published on 17 November, whether they intend to detain in immigration detention centres children who were once accepted as refugees but subsequently not so, following a 30-month review of their status.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Pathways for unaccompanied children, families with children, and other vulnerable asylum seekers will be reviewed with full consideration of our EQIA and Section 55 duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in the UK.
As now, children will not be detained in Immigration Removal Centres.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the Home Office policy paper, Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, published on 17 November, what assessment they have made of the impact of stopping refugee family reunion for those on the core protection route on refugees' (1) ability to economically contribute to the United Kingdom, and (2) reliance on state support.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government’s Asylum Policy Statement outlines the current challenges, the Government’s objectives, and a comprehensive package of measures to restore order, control, fairness and public confidence in the UK’s system. Specific Impact Assessments will be undertaken as policies are developed more fully. These will be kept under review to ensure that there are no unintended impacts on people with protected characteristics.
Further details on asylum reform, including support and contributions, will also be announced in due course.
The Asylum and Returns Policy Statement sets out the intention that we will review protection status for people who do not switch out of Core Protection. This is part of the wider package that seeks to incentivise people to switch (alongside the ability to earn down the time to settlement, and sponsor family members).
We cannot predict with any certainty what proportion of people will switch, although the system will be designed to ensure that switching is a viable option for the majority of people.
For those who do remain on Core Protection, reviews will be conducted on a targeted basis so that we can make the most efficient use of resources. The renewal stage will generally involve a simple security check, and we will set business rules to identify cases that warrant a manual intervention.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the Home Office policy paper, Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, published on 17 November, what assessment they have made of the cost to the (1) Home Office, and (2) legal aid budget, of reassessing refugee applications every 30 months over a 20-year period.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government’s Asylum Policy Statement outlines the current challenges, the Government’s objectives, and a comprehensive package of measures to restore order, control, fairness and public confidence in the UK’s system. Specific Impact Assessments will be undertaken as policies are developed more fully. These will be kept under review to ensure that there are no unintended impacts on people with protected characteristics.
Further details on asylum reform, including support and contributions, will also be announced in due course.
The Asylum and Returns Policy Statement sets out the intention that we will review protection status for people who do not switch out of Core Protection. This is part of the wider package that seeks to incentivise people to switch (alongside the ability to earn down the time to settlement, and sponsor family members).
We cannot predict with any certainty what proportion of people will switch, although the system will be designed to ensure that switching is a viable option for the majority of people.
For those who do remain on Core Protection, reviews will be conducted on a targeted basis so that we can make the most efficient use of resources. The renewal stage will generally involve a simple security check, and we will set business rules to identify cases that warrant a manual intervention.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the Home Office policy paper, Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, published on 17 November, what assessment they have made of the impact on local government finances relating to their duties to support destitute asylum seekers once the Government revoke their own duty to support.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government’s Asylum Policy Statement outlines the current challenges, the Government’s objectives, and a comprehensive package of measures to restore order, control, fairness and public confidence in the UK’s system. Specific Impact Assessments will be undertaken as policies are developed more fully. These will be kept under review to ensure that there are no unintended impacts on people with protected characteristics.
Further details on asylum reform, including support and contributions, will also be announced in due course.
The Asylum and Returns Policy Statement sets out the intention that we will review protection status for people who do not switch out of Core Protection. This is part of the wider package that seeks to incentivise people to switch (alongside the ability to earn down the time to settlement, and sponsor family members).
We cannot predict with any certainty what proportion of people will switch, although the system will be designed to ensure that switching is a viable option for the majority of people.
For those who do remain on Core Protection, reviews will be conducted on a targeted basis so that we can make the most efficient use of resources. The renewal stage will generally involve a simple security check, and we will set business rules to identify cases that warrant a manual intervention.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to publish an update on the note published by the Home Office on 24 February 2022, Statistical note: FNO appeals lodged and allowed on human rights grounds, 2008 to 2021, to include data up to 2025 and the proportion of foreign national offender appeals allowed solely on Article 8 grounds.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office keeps its statistical products under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data. These reviews allow us to balance the production of our regular statistics whilst developing new statistics for future release.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide alternatives to immigration detention for women.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a range of experts and stakeholders.
There is detailed published guidance for all staff working in Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs). Detention Services Order 06/2016 'Women in the immigration removal estate', which sets out the processes that are undertaken in IRCs to ensure that the needs of women are identified and appropriately met and their rights to dignity and privacy are upheld.
The constant supervision of women who are subject to an Assessment Care in Detention and Teamwork (ACDT) plan, should wherever possible, be undertaken by a female detainee custody officer (DCO). In the unlikely event that this is not operationally possible for reasons of safety and security, the details for this decision must be fully documented by the duty manager on the ACDT plan.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the report published on 17 March by Women for Refugee Women, A Decade of Harm: Survivors of gender-based violence locked up in immigration detention, what action they will take regarding the finding that women under constant supervision are being watched by male staff.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a range of experts and stakeholders.
There is detailed published guidance for all staff working in Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs). Detention Services Order 06/2016 'Women in the immigration removal estate', which sets out the processes that are undertaken in IRCs to ensure that the needs of women are identified and appropriately met and their rights to dignity and privacy are upheld.
The constant supervision of women who are subject to an Assessment Care in Detention and Teamwork (ACDT) plan, should wherever possible, be undertaken by a female detainee custody officer (DCO). In the unlikely event that this is not operationally possible for reasons of safety and security, the details for this decision must be fully documented by the duty manager on the ACDT plan.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of violence against women and girls in immigration detention.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a range of experts and stakeholders.
There is detailed published guidance for all staff working in Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs). Detention Services Order 06/2016 'Women in the immigration removal estate', which sets out the processes that are undertaken in IRCs to ensure that the needs of women are identified and appropriately met and their rights to dignity and privacy are upheld.
The constant supervision of women who are subject to an Assessment Care in Detention and Teamwork (ACDT) plan, should wherever possible, be undertaken by a female detainee custody officer (DCO). In the unlikely event that this is not operationally possible for reasons of safety and security, the details for this decision must be fully documented by the duty manager on the ACDT plan.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they still intend to convert Derwentside immigration removal centre to a male-only facility.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Plans for Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) are still being considered. Currently the centre remains a functioning female IRC, and we remain focused on the specific needs for women in our care.