Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether it remains their intention to vacate the Napier Barracks site on or before 25 March.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Following a review and downgrading of the remedial works required at Napier Barracks before the site is handed to developers, a limited time extension has been agreed with the Ministry of Defence to use the site for asylum accommodation until 30 September 2025.
The Home Office continuously reviews the accommodation estate to ensure there is sufficient capacity to meet demand whilst delivering value for money for the UK taxpayer.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what provisions exist to enable Ukrainians who have applied for the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme to continue to be able to demonstrate their right to be in the UK to landlords and employers beyond their current three-year visas whilst they await the outcome of the UPE application.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office suite of digital status services ('View and Prove your immigration status', Right to Work and Right to Rent) support a range of individuals, including Ukrainians applying to the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme, who have made an in-time application for permission to stay in the UK.
This means where a person has an existing digital immigration status (eVisa) and has submitted an in-time application for a further eVisa, they can provide third parties (such as employers or landlords) with a share code.
Where an in-time application to extend or vary leave is made and the application is not decided before the person's existing leave expires, section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 extends the person's existing leave until a decision is made.
The Home Office online checking service will provide confirmation of the person's right to work or rent and provide an employer or landlord with a statutory excuse against liability for a civil penalty, in the event they are later found to have employed or let a property to a person who is not permitted to do so by virtue of their immigration status.
This enables the employer or landlord to hire or extend the person's contract for six or 12 months respectively. This is the standard duration of the statutory excuse when checks are carried out on those persons with a pending, in-time application for immigration permission.
For an employer or landlord to ensure they do not discriminate against anyone, they should provide reasonable opportunity to enable an individual to prove their right to work or rent.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of children affected—directly or indirectly via a parent or guardian—by "no recourse to public funds" conditions on UK residency.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is in the process of transitioning its casework operations to the new ATLAS system. Until the transition process is complete, the availability of data in respect of the number of families, who have a condition on their residency in the UK and the number of children affected, will not be available.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of families where at least one member has a "no recourse to public funds" condition on their residency in the UK.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is in the process of transitioning its casework operations to the new ATLAS system. Until the transition process is complete, the availability of data in respect of the number of families, who have a condition on their residency in the UK and the number of children affected, will not be available.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many children have a "no recourse to public funds" condition on their residency in the UK.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is in the process of transitioning its casework operations to the new ATLAS system. Until the transition process is complete, the availability of data in respect of the number of families, who have a condition on their residency in the UK and the number of children affected, will not be available.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many notices of intent the Home Office issued to asylum applicants deemed potentially inadmissible under sections 80B and 80C of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 between July and September 2024.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum on gov.uk as part of the 'Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release'. Data on inadmissibility is published in tables Asy_09a and Asy_09b in the 'Asylum and resettlement summary tables'. Inadmissibility data for January 2024 onwards is currently unavailable due to ongoing work on a new case working system.
Between 2021 and 2023, 34,113 'notices of intent' were issued to individuals.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what rules regulate the commissioning of training and rehabilitation activities by prison governors.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Public Contracts Regulations (PCR 2015), which are enshrined in the Laws of England and Wales, along with Central Government commercial policies and processes are applied in the commissioning of all contracted-out core training and rehabilitation services in the prisons.
The Prison Governors are also empowered, at a local level, to contract bespoke rehabilitation services through a variety of compliant contracting routes. These contracting services are provided through a central commercial directorate to the prisons within the Ministry of Justice to achieve the best value for money whilst delivering our strategic priority of reducing reoffending.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much they have spent on rehabilitation and training services at each prison in England and Wales in each of the past three years.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Expenditure on rehabilitation and training services covers a range of provision, recorded under numerous budget headings, and cannot be collated without incurring disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the validity of the Maldives’ claim to sovereignty over the Chagos Islands.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The negotiations on the exercise of sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory/Chagos Islands were between the UK and Mauritius, following a long-standing dispute. They were bilateral negotiations between the two countries: no other states were involved. The Maldives are a valued partner and we are in regular contact with them about a range of issues.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to lay the development consent order for the Lower Thames Crossing.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The statutory deadline for a decision to be issued on National Highways’ application for a Development Consent Order on the Lower Thames Crossing is 23 May 2025. Should consent be granted, the Development Consent Order will be made at the same time.