Asked by: Lord Leong (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address Chinese interference in wider UK affairs following violence that occurred at protests outside the Chinese Consulate in Manchester in October 2022.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We continually assess potential threats in the UK, and take protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety in the UK very seriously. Any attempts by foreign Governments to coerce, intimidate, harass, or harm their critics overseas, undermining democracy and the rule of law, are unacceptable.
As the Security Minister stated to the House on 1 November, the Home Office works closely with departments across Whitehall and with devolved administrations to ensure that our national security is protected and that, in particular, those who have chosen to settle here are free to engage in our democratic society without fear of the regimes that they have tried to leave behind.
Asked by: Lord Leong (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications of vandalism and disorder that took place outside the High Commission of India in London on 19 March; and what steps they are taking to ensure the safety and security of diplomatic missions.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government takes the protective security of the Indian High Commission extremely seriously. The Government remains committed to protecting the security of missions throughout the UK, including preventing and rapidly and robustly responding to incidents such as this.
The criminal damage and assaults on staff from the India High Commission at the incident on the weekend of the 18th March was unacceptable. The police have powers to deal with such acts. However, the use of these powers is an operational matter for the police, and decisions on possible criminal proceedings will be made in conjunction with the Crown Prosecution Service.
It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on diplomatic security arrangements. To do so could compromise the integrity of those arrangements and affect the security of the individuals and locations concerned.
Asked by: Lord Leong (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of a network of “secret Chinese police stations” in the UK used by the government of China to identify political dissidents; and what steps they plan to take, if any, to shut them down.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We continually assess potential threats in the UK, and take protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety in the UK very seriously.
Attempts by foreign Governments to coerce, intimidate, harass or harm their critics overseas, undermining democracy and the rule of law, are unacceptable.
The Security Minister made a statement on the issue of transnational repression to the House on 1 November. As he said to the House, reports of undeclared ‘police stations’ in the UK are of course very concerning and are taken extremely seriously. Any foreign country operating on UK soil must abide by UK law. This Government is committed to tackling this challenge wherever it originates. An internal review into transnational repression is underway and the House will be updated on progress in due course.
More broadly, we are driving forward work to protect the democratic integrity of the UK, including from threats of foreign interference, through the Defending Democracy Taskforce.
Asked by: Lord Leong (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons for the UK's drop to 18th place in the global rankings of Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government is committed to tackling corruption. Our Anti-Corruption Strategy 2017 - 2022 provides a framework to guide government anti-corruption policies and actions. As we finalise an updated Strategy we are reviewing and consulting on priority areas for UK action.
The Joint Anti-Corruption Unit (JACU), is a cross-Whitehall unit that sits in the Home Office.
Asked by: Lord Leong (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of attempts by the government of China to silence dissidents based in the UK.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
As a matter of longstanding policy, we do not comment on the detail of security assessments, however, we continually assess potential threats in the UK, and take protection of individuals' rights, freedoms, and safety in the UK very seriously.
As you would expect, Home Office officials work closely with the FCDO and DLUHC as well as other government departments in ensuring that the UK is a safe and welcoming place for all who choose to settle here.
Asked by: Lord Leong (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many British National (Overseas) visas have been issued since the visa scheme was launched; and how many of those have settled in the UK.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The Home Office releases data on the BN(O) route as part of the quarterly migration statistics. There were a total of 121,193 BN(O) route applications made out of country granted between 31 January 2021 and 30 September 2022, and a total of 23,383 BN(O) route applications made in country granted between 31 January 2021 and 30 September 2022.
14 people on the BN(O) visa route have been granted settlement in the UK up to the end of September 2022
The Home Office publishes data on visas, grants of settlement and the British National Overseas (BN(O)) route in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’ on GOV.UK.
Data on the number of entry clearance visa grants to main applicants under the BN(O) route are published in table Vis_D02 of the entry clearance visas applications and outcomes detailed dataset. Data on the number of grants of settlement are published in table Se_D02 of the settlement detailed dataset
Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates up to, and including, September 2022. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Asked by: Lord Leong (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assistance they are providing to those who have fled Hong Kong and are claiming asylum status in the UK; and of those applicants, how many are women.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The UK has a proud record of providing protection for people who need it.
Asked by: Lord Leong (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the protests outside the Chinese Consulate in Manchester, what steps they are taking to protect (1) British citizens protesting peacefully in the UK against the government of China, and (2) Chinese protestors living in the UK.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights set out that everyone has the right to freedom of expression, assembly and association. This government will support these rights, including the right of individuals to engage in peaceful protest.
It is a long-standing tradition in this country that people are free to gather together and to demonstrate their views, provided that they do so within the law.
The management of demonstrations is an operational matter for the police. In certain circumstances, the police have a duty to take reasonable steps to protect those who want to exercise their rights peacefully.