Asked by: Lord McInnes of Kilwinning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when Pathway 3 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme will be re-opened for at-risk Afghans.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
As of 31 December 2022, the UK had granted settled status to over 7,600 individuals under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS). Since then, we have welcomed the first individuals under Pathway 3. Further information on the number of individuals relocated and resettled under each Pathway of the ACRS is detailed in the quarterly Immigration Statistics. The latest release is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets
Under stage one of Pathway 3, places are being offered to eligible at-risk British Council contractors, GardaWorld contractors and Chevening alumni in Afghanistan or the region, and their eligible family members.
FCDO have informed over 250 individuals from these cohorts that they are eligible in principle for resettlement under Pathway 3, subject to passing security checks. Including their family members, this accounts for over 1,200 of the 1,500 available places under this stage of Pathway 3. FCDO have communicated an outcome on over 11,200 (98%) of the over 11,400 EOIs received. We look forward to welcoming all remaining individuals as soon as practicable.
We recognise there are many vulnerable individuals who remain in Afghanistan and the region. Unfortunately, the capacity of the UK to resettle people is not unlimited and difficult decisions have to be made on who will be prioritised for resettlement.
Asked by: Lord McInnes of Kilwinning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria they use to assess the risk to the lives of LGBT asylum seekers from Russia, and in particular the Chechen Republic.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
All asylum and human rights claims from LGBT persons from Russia are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. Each individual assessment is made against the background of the latest available country of origin information and any relevant caselaw.
The Home Office publishes Country Policy and Information Notes, which provide country of origin information, and analysis of this information, for use by Home Office decision makers assessing protection and human rights claims. Each Note provides information concerning the situation for a particular group of people in a particular country. They are published on the GOV.UK website. They are kept under constant review and updated periodically.
Decision makers also have access to the latest available country information through an information request service for specific enquiries to deal with particular issues raised in individual claims
Asked by: Lord McInnes of Kilwinning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many refugees were resettled in the UK from (1) Jordan, (2) Lebanon, (3) Iraq, and (4) Turkey, in 2019, broken down by country of origin.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office is committed to publishing data in an orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Migration Statistics, in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. These can be found at www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-statistics. The next statistics, which contain resettlement arrivals by nationality for the year ending December 2019, is planned for publication on 27 February. We do not publish a breakdown of resettlements by host country.
The Home Office undertakes remote video interviews with refugees referred for resettlement under the Vulnerable Persons and Vulnerable Children's Resettlement Schemes. These interviews are principally designed to gain a deeper understanding of any UK family links and gather information to assist with the process of matching refugees to suitable offers of accommodation, and do not form part of the case consideration process. We do not publish a breakdown of resettlement case acceptance or rejection by host country.
Asked by: Lord McInnes of Kilwinning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many resettlement interviews conducted in (1) Jordan, (2) Lebanon, (3) Iraq, and (4) Turkey, in 2019 resulted in (a) acceptance, or (b) rejection, of the case for resettlement in the UK, broken down by the country of origin of those interviewed.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office is committed to publishing data in an orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Migration Statistics, in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. These can be found at www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-statistics. The next statistics, which contain resettlement arrivals by nationality for the year ending December 2019, is planned for publication on 27 February. We do not publish a breakdown of resettlements by host country.
The Home Office undertakes remote video interviews with refugees referred for resettlement under the Vulnerable Persons and Vulnerable Children's Resettlement Schemes. These interviews are principally designed to gain a deeper understanding of any UK family links and gather information to assist with the process of matching refugees to suitable offers of accommodation, and do not form part of the case consideration process. We do not publish a breakdown of resettlement case acceptance or rejection by host country.
Asked by: Lord McInnes of Kilwinning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many refugees resettled in the UK under the Syrian Vulnerable Resettlement Scheme since 2015; what were the ages of such refugees when resettled; and what proportion of them were from refugee camps in (1) Lebanon, (2) Turkey, and (3) Jordan.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office is committed to publishing data in an orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics, in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.
The statistics are available at the quarterly release on the gov.uk website.
As of September 2018, a total of 13,818 people had been resettled in the UK under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS) since 2015, of which almost half were children. We do not currently publish a breakdown of resettlements by age or host country.
Asked by: Lord McInnes of Kilwinning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what lessons have been learned from the integration of recent Syrian refugees, in particular in relation to the provision of (1) housing, (2) National Insurance numbers, and (3) support in finding employment; whether those lessons are being deployed to ensure effective integration and support for successful non-Syrian asylum seekers; and if so, how.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The ability to plan for the arrival in the UK of those refugees who have been resettled in this country because they are fleeing the conflict in Syria has meant that we are able to provide appropriate support upon arrival. This involves planning for their accommodation and providing caseworker support to access public services, including the service provided by DWP. A pilot to provide bespoke employment support is also in place. Additional funding has been made available by the Home Office and Department for Work and Pensions to provide increased levels of English for Speakers of Other Languages tuition, which will also significantly improve the chances of finding employment. We will evaluate the results of the programme, including the employment pilot, to see what lessons may be learnt.
Asked by: Lord McInnes of Kilwinning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the recommendations of the report Refugees Welcome? by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Refugees, what measures they have taken to improve the experience of successful asylum seekers.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We are working to ensure that asylum seekers in Home Office accommodation who are granted refugee status are able to access the mainstream benefits system smoothly if they continue to need support to cover their living needs.
In particular, we have established a new process that provides additional support to refugees during their transition on to mainstream benefits. That support involves offering a prompt appointment with the Department for Work and Pensions’ “vulnerable persons” service, and further assistance to ensure they receive the first payment of any benefit they are entitled to before their Home Office support comes to an end.
Asked by: Lord McInnes of Kilwinning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
Her Majesty's Government how many people have dual British-Iranian citizenship; and of those, how many are resident in (1) the UK, (2) Iran, and (3) elsewhere.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Information on the number of British nationals with dual nationality is not held.