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Written Question
Asylum
Friday 22nd March 2024

Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum claims have been successfully made by citizens of (a) Israel, (b) the United States, (c) Canada, (d) New Zealand, (e) Australia, (f) Germany, (g) Spain, (h) France and (i) Italy in each of the last five years.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum applications received, and the initial decisions on claims, is published in tables Asy_D01 and Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum applications, decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’. This data includes nationality breakdowns.

Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of each workbook. The latest data relates to 31 December 2023. Data up to the end of March 2024 will be published on 23 May 2024.

Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.


Written Question
South Africa: Antisemitism
Friday 2nd February 2024

Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of updating his Department's travel advice for British Jewish travellers to South Africa, in the context of recent trends in levels of antisemitism in that country.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

Antisemitism has no place in our or any society and we strongly condemn it.

FCDO's travel advice is constantly under review and regularly updated to ensure the safety of British Nationals travelling to and living in South Africa.

The 'safety and security' page of our South Africa travel advice currently includes a section on the conflict in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.


Written Question
South Africa: Antisemitism
Friday 2nd February 2024

Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of his Department's travel advice on the safety of South Africa for British Jews.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

Antisemitism has no place in our or any society and we strongly condemn it.

FCDO's travel advice is constantly under review and regularly updated to ensure the safety of British Nationals travelling to and living in South Africa.

The 'safety and security' page of our South Africa travel advice currently includes a section on the conflict in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.


Written Question
Antisemitism
Friday 2nd February 2024

Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the International Court of Justice case concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel) on global trends in antisemitism.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

We respect the role and independence of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). However, we have stated that we have considerable concerns about this case, which is not helpful in the goal of achieving a sustainable ceasefire. Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas in line with IHL, as we have said from the outset.

Our view is that Israel's actions in Gaza cannot be described as a genocide, which is why we considered South Africa's decision to bring this case was wrong and provocative.

Antisemitism is evil and has absolutely no place in our - or any - society, and we are committed to tackling it in all its forms.

The UK will take on the presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance in March 2024 for one year, which comes ahead of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and the 25th anniversary of the Stockholm Declaration on Holocaust remembrance in January 2025.


Written Question
Sudan: Armed Conflict
Monday 29th January 2024

Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of third-party countries involvement on the duration of the conflict in Sudan.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The UK condemns any actions that further fuel the brutal conflict in Sudan. The UK strongly supports an immediate end to the hostilities, both for the sake of Sudan's own people and to avoid the risk of further instability in the wider region. We continue to support the international community's efforts to reach a ceasefire and work towards a civilian political transition.


Written Question
Housing: Prices
Thursday 30th November 2023

Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to help home buyers purchase properties in areas of above average house price growth.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

This Government is committed to making homeownership a reality for as many households as possible.

We operate a range of schemes to support first-time buyers in purchasing properties, including First Homes, Shared Ownership, Right to Buy and the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme. Over 860,000 households have been helped to purchase a home since spring 2010 through Government-backed schemes. The Government also helps first-time buyers to save for a deposit through the Lifetime ISA.

We have also increased the level at which first-time buyers start paying Stamp Duty from £300,000 to £425,000. First-time buyers will be able to access the relief on property purchases up to £625,000, compared to £500,000 previously. This will apply until end March 2025.


Written Question
First Time Buyers
Thursday 30th November 2023

Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to help first-time home buyers with their deposits.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

This Government is committed to making homeownership a reality for as many households as possible.

We operate a range of schemes to support first-time buyers in purchasing properties, including First Homes, Shared Ownership, Right to Buy and the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme. Over 860,000 households have been helped to purchase a home since spring 2010 through Government-backed schemes. The Government also helps first-time buyers to save for a deposit through the Lifetime ISA.

We have also increased the level at which first-time buyers start paying Stamp Duty from £300,000 to £425,000. First-time buyers will be able to access the relief on property purchases up to £625,000, compared to £500,000 previously. This will apply until end March 2025.


Written Question
Schools: Protest
Tuesday 28th November 2023

Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the implications for her policies of the organising of strikes during the school day by (a) teachers, (b) parents and (c) students in connection with the Israel-Hamas war.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

Children should be in school. While the department recognises young people should be able to peacefully express their views, the department does not condone missing out on their education to protest.

Missing school only disrupts lessons and adds to teachers’ workloads. The department will continue talking to the local authorities affected to offer support where needed. Any absence of this nature will be recorded as ‘unauthorised’, and parents may be given a penalty notice or prosecuted as a result. The department also expects teachers to fulfil their contractual requirements. It would be completely inappropriate for teachers to attend such protests during working hours.

Earlier this week the department wrote to schools, expressing our strong support for headteachers and local authorities in setting clear expectations that pupils should be in school and in enforcing them appropriately, including using fixed penalty notices where applicable.

It is the priority of the department that all students and young people learn in a safe and supportive environment. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, wrote to all schools and colleges on 17 October to provide advice on how to respond to the Israel-Hamas conflict in the classroom. To help schools navigate teaching about political issues, the department has also published guidance for teachers and leaders around political impartiality. Now is not the time for divisive, politically motivated rhetoric. Now is the time to do everything possible to ensure that students, staff and young people, many of whom will be personally affected by the ongoing conflict, are supported and feel safe in education settings.

The department will continue to monitor the situation closely.


Written Question
Police: Demonstrations
Monday 27th November 2023

Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse for policing (a) national and (b) regional marches in relation to the Israel-Hamas conflict since 7 October 2023.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is committed to supporting the police in the robust use of their existing powers to prevent the incitement of hatred, disorder and disruption.

The management of protests, including the resourcing is an operational matter for the police.


Written Question
Hamas: Terrorism
Thursday 26th October 2023

Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his counterparts at the Palestinian Authority on condemning Hamas‘s terrorist attack on 7 October 2023.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

On 20 October the Prime Minister met the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, in Cairo. He expressed his deep condolences for the loss of civilian lives in Gaza, including the terrible destruction of the Al Ahli hospital. Both leaders agreed on the need for all parties to take steps to protect civilians, and civilian infrastructure, and minimise the loss of innocent lives. They condemned Hamas' terrorism and stressed that Hamas do not represent the Palestinian people.

The Foreign Secretary and Minister for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, also continue to engage with the Palestinian Authority. We are deeply worried about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the West Bank and are actively monitoring the situation. The UK Government remains committed to the two-state solution as the best way to bring peace and stability to the region and importantly between Israelis and Palestinians.