Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (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 11 November (HL2631), what defines which institutions qualify as amongst the best institutions; and whether those that do not qualify as the best will be supported to attract suitably talented students from overseas.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
There is no limit on the number of genuine international students who can come to the study to UK.
We are considering what more we can do to strengthen the system to support the best universities and those that stick to the rules to attract the best talent.
Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (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 4 November (HL2634), whether (1) nationality or country of origin, and (2) the status of the institution as a university or college, are factors taken into account in the process for determining which international students applying for a visa to study in the UK should undergo an interview to assess that their course of study is genuine before a visa is issued; and what equality impact assessment has been carried out on the operation of these arrangements.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Interviews are conducted with international students as part of the visa application process in order to confirm that the applicant meets the requirements of the UK immigration rules, in particular that he or she is a genuine student. A number of different factors including the status of the institution are taken into account to assess the potential level of risk that an applicant might pose to the UK border and these are used to determine whether or not an interview is required.
Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment have they made of the impact of the requirement that, in applying for a visa to study in the UK, international students should demonstrate they have sufficient available funds to cover their living expenses.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The maintenance requirements for Tier 4 (General) Students to cover living costs is set at the same level as the combined maximum maintenance loan and grant available to English students living away from home. These requirements are set out in paragraphs 153-176 of the Tier 4 Migrant Guidance.
All students need to meet the same maintenance requirements; however, some students are not required to provide documentation with their applications to confirm this, although the Home Office retain the right to request these documents at any point during the visa process. The details of this are set out in Appendix H of the Immigration Rules.
We will shortly be consulting on proposed changes to the non-EU work and study migration routes to see what more we can do to strengthen the system to support the best institutions – and those that stick to the rules – to attract the best talent.
Interested parties, including businesses and members of the education sector, will have the opportunity to engage with this consultation to help us get these reforms right.
Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether all international students applying to study in the UK are required in their visa applications to submit bank statements showing that they have sufficient available funds to cover their living expenses in the UK; and if not, what are the criteria for selecting which students are required to do so, and to students from which countries this requirement applies.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The maintenance requirements for Tier 4 (General) Students to cover living costs is set at the same level as the combined maximum maintenance loan and grant available to English students living away from home. These requirements are set out in paragraphs 153-176 of the Tier 4 Migrant Guidance.
All students need to meet the same maintenance requirements; however, some students are not required to provide documentation with their applications to confirm this, although the Home Office retain the right to request these documents at any point during the visa process. The details of this are set out in Appendix H of the Immigration Rules.
We will shortly be consulting on proposed changes to the non-EU work and study migration routes to see what more we can do to strengthen the system to support the best institutions – and those that stick to the rules – to attract the best talent.
Interested parties, including businesses and members of the education sector, will have the opportunity to engage with this consultation to help us get these reforms right.
Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what level of funds they deem sufficient to cover the living expenses in the UK of international students, and how this is calculated.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The maintenance requirements for Tier 4 (General) Students to cover living costs is set at the same level as the combined maximum maintenance loan and grant available to English students living away from home. These requirements are set out in paragraphs 153-176 of the Tier 4 Migrant Guidance.
All students need to meet the same maintenance requirements; however, some students are not required to provide documentation with their applications to confirm this, although the Home Office retain the right to request these documents at any point during the visa process. The details of this are set out in Appendix H of the Immigration Rules.
We will shortly be consulting on proposed changes to the non-EU work and study migration routes to see what more we can do to strengthen the system to support the best institutions – and those that stick to the rules – to attract the best talent.
Interested parties, including businesses and members of the education sector, will have the opportunity to engage with this consultation to help us get these reforms right.
Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to seek to remain a member of Europol following the UK's departure from the EU.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Prime Minister has made clear that law enforcement cooperation with our European partners will continue after the UK leaves the EU we will do what is necessary to keep our people safe.
We value the role of Europol in helping law enforcement agencies coordinate investigations in cross border organised crime. We are exploring options for our relationship with Europol once the UK has left the EU but it is too early to speculate at this stage what future arrangments may look like.
Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the process for determining which international students applying for a visa to study in the UK should undergo an interview to assess that their course of study is genuine before a visa is issued; and what is the breakdown of their countries of origin.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Interviews are conducted with some international students as part of the visa application process in order to confirm that the applicant meets the requirements of the UK immigration rules, in particular that he or she is a genuine student. A number of different factors are taken into account to assess the potential level of risk that an applicant might pose to the UK border and these are used to determine whether or not an interview is required.
It is not possible to release the break down of country of origin of students that are interviewed as this would be prejudicial to the operation of immigration controls.
Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the EU Commission proposal to introduce a European electronic system for travel authorisation (ESTA), and (2) the implications of the introduction of a European ESTA for UK citizens and businesses following the UK's departure from the EU; and what representations they have made to the Commission and to EU member states regarding that proposal.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The UK welcomes proposals to increase scrutiny of, and further secure, the EU’s external Schengen border. A brief update on the Commission’s plans to publish draft legislation for an Electronic Travel Information and Authorisation System was provided at the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 13 October, which was attended by the Home Secretary. We will examine the proposals in more detail once publication has taken place. The status of UK citizens under any such system will depend upon the nature of the detailed proposals and the outcome of the UK’s negotiations to exit the EU.
Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to opt in to the new Europol regulation; and if so, when.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The UK remains a full member of Europol, and because of our Justice and Home Affairs opt-in, we have the option to seek to opt-in to Europol’s new legislative framework that comes into force on 1st May 2017. This option remains open to us while we are a member of the EU. The Government is actively considering whether to opt-in to the new Europol Regulation. We will inform Parliament of our decision in due course in the usual way.
Asked by: Lord Harris of Haringey (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many police officers in England and Wales they expect to be equipped with body-worn camera technology by the end of 2016.
Answered by Lord Bates
PCCs and chief officers make the decisions on what technology is procured and how it is used by officers at a local level. It is not for the Home Office to set targets or expectations. It is right that PCCs and their forces are free to invest in technology that aligns to local priorities and addresses the specific challenges they face. The majority of police forces are either already using Body Worn Video (BWV) on a day-to-day basis, or are in the process of rolling this technology out to their officers. The Home Office does not hold information as to how many officers are equipped with BWV. As part of the 2014/15 Police Innovation Fund (PIF), the Home Office awarded a total of £4m to eight bids relating to the roll-out of BWV. We supported the Police ICT Company to bring these eight bids together, with Nottinghamshire Police developing a BWV procurement framework, which is now available to all forces. Other forces either using, or considering the use of, the framework include: Merseyside, North Wales, Bedfordshire, Hampshire and the MPS. The value of PIF bids for BWV for 2013/14 was £1,567,625. Police forces also procure BWV outside of the Police Innovation Fund as part of their own digitisation programmes.