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 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, 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, 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 Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 4 August (HL9810), which are the 151 Conventions of the Council of Europe to which the UK is a signatory.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I understand that Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) officials have been in touch with you on 5 September and provided you with a full list of the 151 Council of Europe Conventions to which the UK is a signatory.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government to which conventions of the Council of Europe is the United Kingdom a signatory.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK has signed 151 Council of Europe Conventions, most recently signing the Convention for the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer and the Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence. Council of Europe Conventions are important for the UK's practical cooperation with our European partners since leaving the European Union, allowing the UK to shape and reform international norms and standards, as well as to rise to emerging human rights challenges.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish the information supplied to interested parties at information events held in June and July about the plans for the National Centre for Arts and Music Education.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information presented at the National Centre for Music and Arts Education market engagement information events on 19 June, 23 June and 1 July will be available to anyone who registers on the department’s e-tendering portal, Jaggaer. The information includes the presentation slides and a log of questions asked during the sessions, with answers.
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 Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many prisoners with a disability are in prisons in each region of England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The requested information is held locally but cannot be collated without incurring disproportionate cost.