Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many refugees have been resettled under the UK Resettlement Scheme which was announced by the Home Secretary in June 2019; and how many refugees they expect to be resettled in the UK under its provisions (1) this year, and (2) for each of the next five years.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
The Home Office publishes data on asylum and resettlement in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of refugees resettled through the UKRS is published in table Res_D01 of the asylum and resettlement detailed datas.
In the first quarter of this year, the Government has resettled 345 individuals through the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS). The scheme began in January 2021 and as of April 2022, a total of 1,470 refugees have been resettled through the UKRS.
There is no stated target for the new global UKRS. The number of individuals resettled in a particular period will depend on a range of factors, including the flow of referrals from UNHCR in the field and local authorities’ ability to provide suitable accommodation and care packages in the UK.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the full cost of chartering the flight to transport asylum claimants from the UK to Rwanda under the terms of the UK–Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership, which had been due to depart on Tuesday 14 June; what was the expected cost per asylum-seeker on the flight; and whether they are liable to pay the full cost, or any cost, of chartering the flight, even in the event that it did not leave the UK for any reason.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The costs of our broken asylum system are at a 20 year record high, currently costing the UK taxpayer over £1.5bn a year, with £4.7 million a day being spent on hotels alone. This cannot continue – and the partnership with Rwanda is a key part of our plans to reform the system and put an end to unsustainable costs which impact the taxpayer.
The Government’s efforts to facilitate entirely legitimate and legal returns of people who have entered the UK illegally are too often frustrated by late challenges submitted hours before the flight. These claims are very often baseless and entirely without merit but are given full legal consideration which can lead to removal being rescheduled.
Costs for individual flights and legal services will vary based on a number of different factors and are regularly reviewed to ensure that best value for money is balanced against the need to remove those individuals with no right to remain in the UK.
We do not routinely disclose commercial or operational information relating to individual charter flights.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the circumstances in which refugees who arrive in the UK after passing through an EU country can still, under certain circumstances, be returned to the first EU country they entered, under the Dublin Regulation (EU Regulation No 604/2013).
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The UK is no longer bound by the Dublin Regulation and as such no longer returns asylum seekers under these provisions.
The UK is in discussions regarding the returns of asylum seekers to European Union Member States; however, it would not be appropriate to provide a running commentary on these negotiations.
Returns may also be agreed with partner countries on a case-by-case basis without formal agreements. This happened historically, outside of the former Dublin arrangements, and will continue to be part of the approach we apply.
Our inadmissibility provisions in the Immigration Rules give us the legal basis to declare an asylum claim as inadmissible where a person has a connection to, or has passed through, a safe country. The first returns on inadmissibility grounds have been successfully carried out.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Home Secretary has met the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI), David Neal, since he was appointed; whether they have cancelled six scheduled meetings since his appointment; and if so, what were the reasons for the delay to the meeting taking place.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
Mr Neal has regular meetings with Ministers whose portfolios include Borders and Immigration, as well as with senior officials including the Permanent Secretaries.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the remarks by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on 14 April that they "remain firmly opposed to arrangements that seek to transfer refugees and asylum seekers to third countries in the absence of sufficient safeguards and standards".
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
Safeguards and assurances were considered throughout the development of the Migration and Economic Development Partnership between the UK and Rwanda, and have been included in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). For example, the MoU provides for the creation of a Joint Committee and a Monitoring Committee to oversee the Partnership and provide ongoing assurances.
The Home Office Country Policy and Information Team also carried out an assessment of Rwanda’s asylum system and investigated potential human rights issues. More information on its findings can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rwanda-country-policy-and-information-notes
It should be noted that the UNHCR said, in a 2020 press notice, that Rwanda has been welcoming refugees for over two decades. It added that the country offers a safe and protective environment to all asylum seekers and refugees.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what empirical evidence they collected prior to the announcement of the UK and Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership on 14 April to support their goal of "breaking the business model of people smuggling gangs"; what evidence they have that human traffickers will be deterred and their illegal activities reduced, not just in the UK context, but globally; and what advice they have sought from other countries who have tried this outsourcing approach to refugees; in particular, the government of Israel.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Migration and Economic Development Partnership intends to deter dangerous journeys and illegal entry to the UK, break the business model of people smugglers and protect the lives of those they endanger.
It is anticipated that by reducing the likelihood of individuals who have travelled through safe third countries remaining in the UK as a refugee, those inclined to make these journeys are more likely to be deterred and choose instead to remain in the safe country they are in.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to speed up the visa application process for Ukrainian refugees.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
We have received thousands of applications submitted to one of the fastest and largest visa programmes in UK history. Information on the number of visas granted under these schemes can be on the GOV.UK webpage: Ukraine Schemes: application data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
We are committed to ensuring our operational teams have the resources they need to run an efficient and effective system, and we actively monitor workflows to ensure sufficient resources are in place to meet demand, including from pressures relating to Ukraine.
The Home Office and the commercial provider operating our Visa Application Centres have surged staff across Europe to meet demand and UKVI staff in the UK are working seven days a week to process applications.
As part of the Home Office’s commitment to make it easier for applicants to apply to our schemes, since 15 March, Ukrainians with valid passports no longer need to go to a Visa Application Centre to give their biometrics before they come to the UK.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many visa applications they have received under the Ukraine Family Scheme to date; and how many visas have been granted.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
General information on the number of applications currently being processed under the newly launched Ukraine Family Scheme can be found in our published data on the GOV.UK webpage Ukraine Family Scheme: application data 23 March 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to require (1) web hosting services, (2) technology companies, and (3) non-UK based service providers such as Cloudflare, to do more to identify and remove hateful content in order to protect the public; and whether they believe 'incel' content constitutes terrorism.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
Our objective is to ensure that there are no safe spaces online for all forms of terrorists to promote or share their extreme views. To tackle terrorism online, the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit refers illegal terrorist content to tech companies for removal. Within the Home Office, we encourage tech companies to work together as one coordinated body through the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism to reduce the availability of terrorist content online.
We have also published the draft Online Safety Bill, which gives effect to the regulatory framework outlined in the Full Government Response to the Online Harms White Paper. The Joint Committee for pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Bill published its report on 14th December, and we will prioritise introduction of the Bill once we have carefully considered the Committee’s recommendations.
We want the internet to be a safe space for all users - we are clear that what is unacceptable offline should be unacceptable online. However, we recognise the complexities in adapting our approach against an ever-changing technological landscape. We have committed to publishing a new Hate Crime Strategy, building on our achievements under the 2016-2020 Hate Crime Action Plan, which improved the response to all forms of hate crime, including online.
Whether or not online content relates to an offence contrary to terrorism legislation is a matter for the police to investigate and will be determined by the facts of each case. The Government is however clear that the definition of terrorism within the Terrorism Act 2000 remains fit for purpose and capable of responding to modern forms of terrorism. Serious violence or the threat of serious violence for the purpose of advancing an ideological cause, including where this is inspired by incel beliefs, is capable of satisfying the definition of terrorism. This is a position supported by the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many refugees have been evacuated from Afghanistan to the UK since August 2021; how many of those are currently living in temporary accommodation in the UK; and how many of those have been found permanent homes in England.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
Over 15,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan under Operation Pitting. A further 1,500 people have been given assistance to enter the UK since the initial evacuation took place.
Those who we evacuated were a mixture of British Nationals, mixed family units and those who qualified for ARAP and who will qualify for ACRS
There are currently 12,000 in Bridging Hotel Accommodation.
To date we have successfully moved over 4,000 people into permanent accommodation and are working at pace with our Local Authority partners in order to secure permanent accommodation for those still in temporary accommodation.