Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made regarding the finances of renting the Bibby Stockholm for the detention of asylum seekers.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
As part of the government’s commitment to fix the asylum system and clear the backlog, the decision has been taken to not renew the contract for the Bibby Stockholm, which ends in January 2025. Extending the use of the Bibby Stockholm would have cost over £20 million next year.
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Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to continue to use the "Bibby Stockholm"; and, if so, for what purpose and at what budgeted cost.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Bibby Stockholm will continue to be in use until the contract expires in January 2025.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what has been the total cost of preparing the Rwanda deportation plan.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
In her statement to the House on 22 July, the Home Secretary said the Rwanda-UK partnership had cost £700 million, which encompasses the direct costs of the partnership as detailed in the National Audit Office report released March 1, 2024, as well as expenses related to preparing for relocation flights to Rwanda and implementing the Illegal Migration Act (IMA).
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many immigrants have been prepared for deportation to Rwanda; and what will happen to them when the Rwanda deportation plan is repealed.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to a new policy agenda, which is why we are moving away from the Migration and Economic Development Partnership (MEDP) with Rwanda.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what contractual obligations the UK entered into before the general election, and with whom, to meet the requirements of the deportations to Rwanda.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Contractual obligations are subject to commercial sensitivities and cannot be disclosed.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they plan to use civil servants currently engaged in the Rwanda deportation process.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to a new policy agenda, which is why we are moving away from the Migration and Economic Development Partnership (MEDP) with Rwanda and refocusing our efforts on a new returns and asylum system and Border Security Command.
Funding and efforts will be focused on expanding our enforcement and returns capability, so those with no right to be here are swiftly removed.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to repeal legislation providing for immigrants to be deported to Rwanda.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The government has set out intentions with regards to the MEDP. Any future legislation will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they provide WiFi access within asylum seekers' lodgings to enable them to communicate with family members.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The provision of Wi-Fi is not a contractual requirement across the asylum accommodation estate.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to review the efficacy of the Home Office.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The efficacy of the Home Office is regularly assured through a number of accountability mechanisms. These include Home Office questions and the Home Affairs Select Committee in Parliament.
The annual report and accounts provide a financial and narrative summary of the activities of the Department.
They are published yearly on gov.uk, offering a review of the Home Office's vision and priorities for the year, and are subject to review by the National Audit Office. The latest one to be published covers 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to commit to reducing the waiting period for all initial asylum decisions to one year or less.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Asylum casework operations are now prioritising processing asylum claims submitted on or after the 28th June 2022 with the aim of concluding these as soon as possible.