Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the visit by the Minister for the Indo-Pacific to Hong Kong on relations with China.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In line with the Government's "protect, align, and engage" approach to China, as set out in the Integrated Review Refresh, the I raised a number of issues important to the UK national interest with Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Christopher Hui during my visit to Hong Kong in April. This included the prosecution of British national Jimmy Lai, the enactment of further national security legislation (Article 23), and concerns over transnational repression against BN(O)s in the UK. Issues of mutual and global interest were also discussed, alongside areas of disagreement or concern.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he plans to meet (a) Sebastian Lai and (b) his international legal team.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary and I last met with Sebastien Lai on 12 December. We are in regular contact with Sebastien Lai and members of Jimmy Lai's international legal team and continue to provide support.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many individuals that have been issued a notice of intent of inadmissibility have subsequently been admitted to the asylum system since 1 January 2022.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The Home Office does not routinely publish data on those who are admitted to the UK asylum system after a notice of intent has been issued.
General data on inadmissibility is published as part of the quarterly immigration system statistics and can be found at How many people do we grant protection to? - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many individuals that have been detained for removal to Rwanda have also been served an (a) notice of inadmissibility and (b) inadmissibility decision.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The Home Office will not be providing a running commentary on ongoing operational activity. However, all individuals will have their cases considered in line with the published inadmissibility guidance:
Inadmissibility – third country cases: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the capacity of the immigration detention estate was on (a) 8 May 2024, (b) 8 January 2024 and (c) 8 July 2023.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
Immigration detention capacity figures are not static and are subject to operational demands.
Management information shows that detention capacity on 8 July 2023 was c2158 immigration removal centre (IRC) beds, rising to c2219 IRC beds on 8 January 2024. As of 24 April 2024, there is a capacity to detain c2200 people in IRCs, including those liable for removal to Rwanda, with more coming online in the coming months.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of opening a coronial inquest into the killing of three British nationals working with the World Central Kitchen by an Israeli drone strike in Gaza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Prime Minister spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on 2 April and made clear that the UK was appalled by the killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, including three British Nationals, in an Israeli airstrike. The Prime Minister called for a thorough and transparent investigation into what happened. We are reviewing the initial findings of Israel's investigation of the incident.
Guaranteed deconfliction for aid convoys and other humanitarian work is essential.
The Government mourns the loss of these brave humanitarian workers, and our thoughts remain with their families at this time.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that people with similar names to people on watchlists are not harassed during border checks at airports.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Our priority is to maintain a secure border. We will not compromise on this. Border Force performs checks on all passengers arriving at the UK border on scheduled services to identify individuals who pose, or are suspected to pose, a risk to the national interest.
Identities, and combinations of names and dates of birth, are not necessarily unique. Individuals who share names with persons of interest may experience closer examination than would otherwise be the case.
The Home Office is making significant investment to improve the underlying technical infrastructure which performs border checks to identify individuals more precisely. This will reduce the number of individuals incorrectly matched to persons of interest and enable Border Force to identify more quickly individuals who are not to be confused with persons of interest. We expect these improvements to start having effect over the summer.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the treatment that people with similar names to people on watchlists receive during border checks at airports.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Our priority is to maintain a secure border. We will not compromise on this. Border Force performs checks on all passengers arriving at the UK border on scheduled services to identify individuals who pose, or are suspected to pose, a risk to the national interest.
Identities, and combinations of names and dates of birth, are not necessarily unique. Individuals who share names with persons of interest may experience closer examination than would otherwise be the case.
The Home Office is making significant investment to improve the underlying technical infrastructure which performs border checks to identify individuals more precisely. This will reduce the number of individuals incorrectly matched to persons of interest and enable Border Force to identify more quickly individuals who are not to be confused with persons of interest. We expect these improvements to start having effect over the summer.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police stations have been tested for reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The police are operationally independent and therefore it is the individual responsibility of each police force to manage their estate and ensure it is compliant with the relevant legislation. This includes duties to maintain a safe workplace, as set out in relevant health and safety legislation.
Last year the National Police Estates Group, working with Home Office officials, conducted a stocktake of all police forces in England and Wales regarding the presence of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) across their respective estates. This identified a small number of forces with instances of RAAC, most relating to single building locations. All have reported that remedial action has been taken to mitigate potential risk.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police stations has reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete been identified in.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The police are operationally independent and therefore it is the individual responsibility of each police force to manage their estate and ensure it is compliant with the relevant legislation. This includes duties to maintain a safe workplace, as set out in relevant health and safety legislation.
Last year the National Police Estates Group, working with Home Office officials, conducted a stocktake of all police forces in England and Wales regarding the presence of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) across their respective estates. This identified a small number of forces with instances of RAAC, most relating to single building locations. All have reported that remedial action has been taken to mitigate potential risk.