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 - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of 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 - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of 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 - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of 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 - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of 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 - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of 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 - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of 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.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people from Hong Kong have (1) applied to relocate to the UK under the British Nationals (Overseas) (BNO) visa scheme since January, and (2) arrived in the UK under the BNO visa scheme since January; and what steps they have taken to help such people settle within local communities.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
(1) The Home Office publishes data on visas and the British National Overseas (BN(O)) route in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’ which can be found on Gov.uk The data relates to the first three quarters of 2021, January to September, and are derived from management information. These statistics include data on main applicants and dependants and some data are rounded to the nearest hundred. Data for Q4 2021 will be published on 24 February 2022. (2) At present it is not possible from the data to say how many of those issued with a visa have arrived in the UK. (3) In April 2021, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) launched a new UK-wide Welcome Programme to support Hong Kong British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) status holders with a package worth £43.1 million for this financial year. |
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) what assessment they have made of the number of refugees expected to flee Afghanistan in the next six months, and (2) what steps are they taking, domestically and with international partners, to manage the arrival of Afghan refugees to the UK and Europe.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will welcome 5,000 people at risk in the first year, and up to 20,000 in the coming years.
Work is underway across the whole of Government to ensure families who were evacuated from Afghanistan are supported, as they rebuild their lives in the UK. The support provided is similar to the commitments in the Syrian Resettlement Programme, providing people with the vital access to accommodation, health care, education and support into employment they need to fully integrate into society.
The Government will continue to work closely with other government departments, non-governmental organisations, international organisations, charities, local authorities and other partners in the development and implementation of the ACRS.
Further details of the Government’s approach can be found in the policy statement published on 13 September:
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many additional Border Force staff have been mobilised since 17 May to reduce the queueing time at passport control in Heathrow Airport; and what is the average queueing time at passport control on arrival at Heathrow.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Border Force is ensuring that it has the right level of resources to check that passengers are compliant with our border health measures to minimise wait times at the border whilst ensuring we maintain border security and public health.
We have taken steps to make sure that there is the maximum number of additional Border Force officers possible to carry out those crucial checks, ensuring compliance with health measures, while minimizing wait time.
Since January 2020 to May 2021 Border Force overall workforce has grown by over 290 to a figure of around 9,300 FTE.
This is in addition to the return of staff from detached duty and the return of critically vulnerable staff to the front line, as well the capability to deploy resources flexibly across the United Kingdom to deal with any increase on demand.
As the Director General of Border Force stated at the Public Account Committee session on the 10th June, the average time this year for anyone travelling through Heathrow has been under 30 minutes.