Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the amount of cocaine that arrived in the UK in (1) 2023, and (2) 2024 to date, as a result of Balkan drug gangs and their criminal networks; and what steps they are taking, together with European partners, to (a) end the illegal activities associated with Balkan drug dealers, and (b) disrupt the supply of cocaine across Europe.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Illegal drugs devastate lives, ruin families and damage communities. The Government is committed to tackling these harms, including drug-related gang activity.
a) Reducing the threat posed by transnational Western Balkans organised crime groups (WBOCGs) is a government priority. We intensified the cooperation with our international partners to maximise the impact of our interventions WBOCGs wherever they are. Our engagements have already resulted in strategic partnerships with countries such as France, Germany, Italy, and Albania. In addition, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has well established relationships with law enforcement partners across Europe, as well as with Europol and Interpol, which include regular exchanges on organised crime with links to the Western Balkans. We are also seeking to improve criminal records sharing arrangements and law enforcement cooperation between the UK and the Western Balkan countries.
b) Our ten-year Drug Strategy, From Harm to Hope, sets out a whole system approach to combat illicit drugs. As part of this the Home Office has committed £300m of dedicated investment over three years (April 2022 – March 2025) to tackle every phase of the drug supply chain and make it considerably harder for criminal gangs to operate. With this funding we are supporting intelligence-led approaches to interdict and seize drugs as they cross the UK border and prevent criminal groups from bringing drugs to our streets. Across the whole of the UK, the NCA, Border Force, and local police are working in partnership, using intelligence and technology to secure our borders against drug trafficking. We are also funding upstream activity to tackle overseas drug supply, which is aimed at disrupting the criminal networks seeking to traffic illegal drugs to the UK. This includes building close enforcement partnerships with law enforcement agencies in mainland Europe.
The NCA has estimated that the UK consumes 117 tonnes of cocaine each year. We do not hold data on the amount of cocaine arriving in the UK as a result of Balkan OCGs. In the financial year ending 2023, police and Border Force seized 18.58 tonnes of powder cocaine, the second largest quantity of the substance since records began.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to be able to make a full value for money assessment of (1) the Illegal Migration Act 2023, and (2) the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024; and when they expect to be able to assess with certainty the level of deterrent effect of this legislation.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Both the Illegal Migration Act 2023 and the Safety of Rwanda Act 2024 aim to put a stop to illegal migration into the UK by removing the incentive to make dangerous small boat crossings.
The Home Office has published its Economic Impact Assessment for the Illegal Migration Act https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/impact-assessments-covering-migration-policy and Safety of Rwanda Act Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill: impact assessments - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether asylum seekers arriving in the UK unlawfully from the Democratic Republic of the Congo will be subject to removal to the Republic of Rwanda, under the provisions of the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Anyone in the UK illegally, including those who arrived through illegal, dangerous, and unnecessary means, may be in scope for removal to Rwanda.
Only those who face a real and imminent risk of serious and irreversible harm based on their individual circumstances will be able to appeal decisions in the UK.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking in the case of the Palestinian academic Bassem Abudagga, currently studying for his PhD at York St John University, to expedite the visa application process so that his wife and two young children can come from Gaza to the UK.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We strive to conclude cases within the published guidance and information on study processing times and service standards can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/visa-decision-waiting-times-applications-outside-the-uk#faster.
Unfortunately, UKVI cannot comment on individual cases or provide information regarding UK visa applications via this channel.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many suspicious, unnatural, untimely or unexplained deaths have been investigated by the Metropolitan Police since 2010 in which they ultimately determined the cause of death to be suicide, rather than a criminal act.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold the requested information. The Home Office will only receive information on a death if a criminal offence has been recorded by the police.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to (1) improve the mental and physical health of asylum seekers on the Bibby Stockholm barge, following the death of Leonard Farruku on 12 December 2023; and (2) ensure that the process of assessing living conditions on the Bibby Stockholm is sufficiently transparent.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
This tragic incident is subject to an ongoing investigation by the police and Coroner and therefore we cannot comment upon this or other individual cases. It is right that the facts surrounding this are established in the appropriate legal manner.
The welfare of asylum seekers is always a priority. The Home Office ensures that accommodation provided is adequate and meets the regulatory standards. We assess individuals' suitability to reside at Portland before moving them on board, and each person's suitability is assessed at regular intervals. If anyone is no longer suitable for any reason, they will be moved to alternative accommodation.
Accommodation providers ensure that guidance and training provided to staff regarding the identification and management of vulnerable asylum seekers with specific needs, or at-risk asylum seekers, is kept up to date and aligns with best practice and safeguarding processes.
The medical facility on the barge is staffed 5 days a week to provide an onsite primary healthcare service. The medical team has previous experience of working with asylum seekers, and refer anyone they are concerned about to the relevant specialist health providers, and discuss (in line with GDPR requirements), their advice with staff.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the percentage of UK citizens who earn above £38,700; and whether it is an intended consequence of the plan to "cut migration levels and to curb abuse of the immigration system", as announced by the Home Secretary on 4 December, to allow only UK citizens who earn above the £38,700 threshold to marry a non-British spouse and to sponsor them to live in the UK from April 2024.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
At the current Minimum Income Requirement (MIR) level of £18,600, 75% of the UK working population (based on ASHE earnings data) meet the MIR level. At the higher MIR of £38,700 – the median salary level for those on the skilled worker route, and all else being constant, around 30% of the UK working population could meet the threshold based on earnings alone. The MIR will be increased in incremental stages to give predictability. In Spring 2024, we will raise the threshold to £29,000, that is the 25th percentile of earnings for jobs which are eligible for Skilled Worker visas, moving to the 40th percentile (currently £34,500) and finally the 50th percentile (currently £38,700 and the level at which the general skilled worker threshold is set) in the final stage of implementation.
Family life must not be established here at the taxpayer’s expense and family migrants must be able to integrate if they are to play a full part in British life. The MIR has not been increased for over a decade and no longer reflects the level of income required by a family to ensure they are self-sufficient and do not need to rely on public funds. It is intended that this change will contribute to reducing net migration when it is introduced in spring 2024.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many UK citizens have a foreign spouse whom they have sponsored to live in the UK under the current family visa system; what is the number of foreign spouses living in the UK on family visas expressed as a percentage of net migration in the most recent annual figures available; and what is the estimated cost to the public of foreign spouses of UK citizens living in the UK on family visas.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The number of UK citizens that have a foreign spouse whom they have sponsored to live in the UK under the current family visa system, the number of foreign spouses living in the UK on family visas expressed as a percentage of net migration in the most recent annual figures available and the estimated cost to the public of foreign spouses of UK citizens living in the UK on family visas does not form part of any current transparency data or migration statistics and is not published.
Transparency data is published quarterly on Gov.uk and includes data on the number of visas issued on family routes, although this does not necessarily equate to foreign spouses living in the UK.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to ensure that asylum seekers who are granted refugee status in the UK are not at increased risk of homelessness and destitution as a result of recent policy changes to the ‘move-on’ process, which requires newly-recognised refugees to quit Home Office accommodation on seven days’ notice instead of 28 days; and what measures they are taking to ensure that this policy change does not place unnecessary pressures on local authority homelessness services and the voluntary sector.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
An individual remains eligible for asylum support for a prescribed period from the day they are notified of the decision on their asylum claim. Where someone is given notice that their asylum claim has been granted, their appeal has been allowed or their asylum claim has been refused but they have been given leave to enter or remain, the prescribed period in legislation is 28 days. There has been no change to the prescribed period.
Individuals should make plans to move on from asylum support as quickly as possible. We offer support through Migrant Help or their partner organisation in doing this. This includes providing advice on accessing the labour market, on applying for Universal Credit and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing. Newly recognised refugees are entitled to housing assistance from their local authority and are treated as a priority need if they have children or are considered vulnerable. Individuals do not need to wait for their BRP to make a claim for benefits and are encouraged to do so as early as possible if they require them.
We are ensuring our cross government partners, such as the (DWP) and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) are sighted on data to enable them to consider the impacts of increased decision making and effectively plan. We are also working with DLUHC to ensure the right asylum decision data is being shared with local authorities to enable effective planning and to lessen the impact on existing homelessness and rough sleeping pressures. Our accommodation providers are directly working with local authorities to notify them when an individual is due to have their asylum support ended.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what High Court and Court of Appeal cases have been lost by the Home Office in 2022–23; and what the total cost to the taxpayer of such cases has been.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office does not keep a central record of all judgments handed down where it was a party to legal proceedings before the High Court or Court of Appeal of England and Wales. Accordingly, it does not have a central record of all the cases that the Home Office won or lost during 2022-23. This also means that it does not have a central record of the costs which have arisen in each of those cases. This would require a review of each case to collate the information sought. Accordingly, the Department considers the disproportionate cost threshold applies for the collection of this information.