Anne McLaughlin

At 15th February, a total of 244 appeals about the mis-selling of Green Deal Plans by the company Home Energy & Lifestyle Management Ltd (HELMS) have been referred to my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State, of which 137 are yet to receive an intention notice and 153 are yet to receive a sanction notice.

The Department has issued 2 Intention Notices setting out ‘minded to’ decisions not to consider appeals on the basis that they were made more than 6 years after the date on which the alleged breach of the Green Deal Regulations occurred. These decisions have been made in accordance with the Regulations. The Department does not hold data on any further appeals made more than 6 years after the date on which the alleged breach occurred, as it is not possible to categorise appeals as such until case reviews are complete, at which point Intention Notices are issued.

The Department has requested information from various Green Deal Parties, including Green Deal Providers and the Green Deal Finance Company, on numerous occasions since the scheme was introduced in 2013. However, because there is no formal requirement to state that the Department is using its powers under Part 9 (reg 86) of the Green Deal Framework (Disclosure, Acknowledgment, Redress, etc) Regulations 2012, no record exists of how many times the Department has invoked the powers.

The number of Green Deal plans provided by Home Energy & Lifestyle Management Ltd which included External Wall Insulation in England and Wales by parliamentary constituency are shown in the table below.

In order to manage the risk of revealing personal or commercial data, our approach is not to release non-zero counts of less than five for a small geographic area. Items marked * are small and have been supressed to achieve this disclosure control.

The Department does not hold data on the total value of Green Deal loans, whether taken out with Home Energy and Lifestyle Management Ltd (HELMS) or any other Green Deal Provider.

The then Secretary of State Greg Clark delegated initial reviews of complaints about mis-selling to the Financial Ombudsman Service under section 32 of the Energy Act 2011 on 24^th October 2018. Their consideration is part of the wider review process. Responsibility for deciding whether a breach has occurred and, if so, whether a sanction should be imposed rests with the Secretary of State, in line with the requirements of the Framework Regulations.

Under this delegation the Financial Ombudsman Service has made recommendations regarding 143 complaints about HELMS. Recommendations may cover whether to cancel or reduce loans, or cover other matters, such as whether to conclude that there have been breaches of the Green Deal Framework regulations. For 69 of these complaints, the Financial Ombudsman Service recommended cancellation.

The then Secretary of State Greg Clark delegated initial reviews of complaints about mis-selling to the Financial Ombudsman Service under section 32 of the Energy Act 2011 on 24^th October 2018, and as such the Department does not hold data on the total value of Green Deal Loans, whether taken out with Home Energy and Lifestyle Management Ltd (HELMS) or any other Green Deal Provider.

The Financial Ombudsman Service’s consideration of complaints is part of the wider review process. Responsibility for deciding whether a breach has occurred and, if so, whether a sanction should be imposed rests with the Secretary of State, in line with the requirements of the Framework Regulations.

Under this delegation the Financial Ombudsman Service has made recommendations regarding 143 complaints about HELMS. Recommendations may cover whether to cancel or reduce loans, or cover other matters, such as whether to conclude that there have been breaches of the Green Deal Framework regulations. For 69 of these complaints, the Financial Ombudsman Service recommended cancellation.

The then Secretary of State Greg Clark delegated initial reviews of complaints about mis-selling to the Financial Ombudsman Service under section 32 of the Energy Act 2011 on 24^th October 2018, and as such the Department does not hold data on the total value of Green Deal Loans, whether taken out with Home Energy and Lifestyle Management Ltd (HELMS) or any other Green Deal Provider.

The Financial Ombudsman Service’s consideration of complaints is part of the wider review process. Responsibility for deciding whether a breach has occurred and, if so, whether a sanction should be imposed rests with the Secretary of State, in line with the requirements of the Framework Regulations.

Under this delegation the Financial Ombudsman Service has made recommendations regarding 143 complaints about HELMS. Recommendations may cover whether to cancel or reduce loans, or cover other matters, such as whether to conclude that there have been breaches of the Green Deal Framework regulations. For 69 of these complaints, the Financial Ombudsman Service recommended cancellation.

The then Secretary of State Greg Clark delegated initial reviews of complaints about mis-selling to the Financial Ombudsman Service under section 32 of the Energy Act 2011 on 24^th October 2018, and as such the Department does not hold data on the total value of Green Deal Loans, whether taken out with Home Energy and Lifestyle Management Ltd (HELMS) or any other Green Deal Provider.

The Financial Ombudsman Service’s consideration of complaints is part of the wider review process. Responsibility for deciding whether a breach has occurred and, if so, whether a sanction should be imposed rests with the Secretary of State, in line with the requirements of the Framework Regulations.

Under this delegation the Financial Ombudsman Service has made recommendations regarding 143 complaints about HELMS. Recommendations may cover whether to cancel or reduce loans, or cover other matters, such as whether to conclude that there have been breaches of the Green Deal Framework regulations. For 69 of these complaints, the Financial Ombudsman Service recommended cancellation.

The then Secretary of State Greg Clark delegated initial reviews of complaints about mis-selling to the Financial Ombudsman Service under section 32 of the Energy Act 2011 on 24^th October 2018, and as such the Department does not hold data on the total value of Green Deal Loans, whether taken out with Home Energy and Lifestyle Management Ltd (HELMS) or any other Green Deal Provider.

The Financial Ombudsman Service’s consideration of complaints is part of the wider review process. Responsibility for deciding whether a breach has occurred and, if so, whether a sanction should be imposed rests with the Secretary of State, in line with the requirements of the Framework Regulations.

Under this delegation the Financial Ombudsman Service has made recommendations regarding 143 complaints about HELMS. Recommendations may cover whether to cancel or reduce loans, or cover other matters, such as whether to conclude that there have been breaches of the Green Deal Framework regulations. For 69 of these complaints, the Financial Ombudsman Service recommended cancellation.

Where mis-selling complaints have not been dealt with to the consumer’s satisfaction by the Green Deal Provider, they are routinely handled by the Financial Ombudsman Service. We do not hold data on response times for either the Green Deal Ombudsman or the Financial Ombudsman Service.

In line with departmental targets, we aim to respond to correspondence within 15 working days. This includes acknowledging complaints about Green Deal mis-selling.

The Government’s Trade Credit Reinsurance Scheme will see the majority of Trade Credit Insurance coverage maintained for businesses across the UK. The Scheme operates as a reinsurance arrangement which will see trade credit insurers continuing to write and maintain cover to business throughout the Covid-19 crisis.

We expect to finalise details of the scheme with both insurers and the European Commission soon. Contractual agreements with insurers will be signed shortly afterwards allowing cover that has previously been reduced or withdrawn to be reinstated. If a business feels that their coverage has been withdrawn unfairly they should contact either their previous insurer about reinstating cover, or look to arrange new cover under the same conditions as their previous coverage.

We have been in regular contact with representatives from the hospitality sector, including suppliers, to ensure that we support them during and after the Covid-19 crisis. A number of measures are available to support suppliers to the hospitality industry, such as access to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and government backed loans. Suppliers to badly hit sectors such as hospitality may also be able to access the Discretionary Grant Fund which provides business support grants to businesses affected by the Covid-19 crisis at the discretion of Local Authorities.

The Government is providing additional measures to support the hospitality sector itself, including a VAT reduction to 5% and the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme.

The total number of Pension Credit Claims made since introduction of means testing for free TV licences for people aged over 75 from 1^st August 2020 is 29,919.

Extract taken from Weekly Pensions Performance Report on 28^th September 2020

Source: Weekly Data from CAM (Customer Account Manager)

While over 1.5 million pensioners currently receive Pension Credit, the Government wants to make sure that all pensioners eligible can claim the Pension Credit to which they are rightly entitled. That is why in February this year we launched a nationwide campaign to raise awareness of Pension Credit and help dispel some of the misconceptions that people might have about Pension Credit eligibility.

We are also continuing to work with our stakeholders all across the UK, to help spread the key messages from the campaign because we know that often the best ways to reach eligible pensioners is through trusted stakeholders working in the local community. Our online Pension Credit toolkit (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit) has been updated with the recent awareness campaign materials to supplement the resources it already contains for those working with pensioners, such as guides to Pension Credit and information designed to help older people understand how they could get Pension Credit.

In May this year we also launched an online claim service for Pension Credit to supplement the existing telephone and postal claim services (https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit). The new online service enables pensioners to apply for Pension Credit at a time that suits them.

The number of Pension Credit claims received in the last 12 months is shown in table 1 below:

Table 1

Extract taken from Weekly Pensions Performance Report on 28^th September 2020

Source: Weekly Data from CAM (Customer Account Manager)

The figure includes both successful and unsuccessful Pension Credit claims.

The New Plan for Immigration, published by the Home Office on 24 March 2021, included plans to set up Reception Centres to provide basic accommodation for asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute.

As part of these plans consideration is being given to commencing some of the measures set out in the Nationality Immigration and Asylum 2002 which relate to supporting asylum seekers in accommodation centres.

The locations for accommodation centres have not yet been determined. Any proposals to establish accommodation centres in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland would be discussed with the devolved governments.

The UK has a proud history of providing protection to those who need it, in accordance with our international obligations.

All asylum claims are considered on a case by case basis and in line with published policy.

We are currently reviewing the country situation and will issue updated country policy and information notes shortly for Afghanistan, which reflect revised assessments of risk of persecution. We have therefore temporarily paused asylum decision making for Afghan nationals to ensure our decision makers are only considering claimants’ protection needs in the light of relevant and up-to-date country information.

All asylum appeals from Afghan nationals will be reviewed ahead of any hearing to look at the individual claim in light of the changed country situation, current guidance and any further information submitted by the claimant, to assess whether the decision to refuse is still appropriate.

No one who is found to be at risk of persecution or serious harm in Afghanistan will be expected to return there. Enforced returns of those who have been refused asylum and have exhausted all rights of appeal are currently paused.

An asylum seeker who receives a “notice of intent” stating their asylum claim may be treated as inadmissible, is eligible to receive support under section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 if they would otherwise be destitute.

The New Plan for Immigration published by the Home Office included plans to set up Reception Centres to provide basic accommodation for asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute.

As part of these plans consideration is being given to commencing some of the measures set out in the Nationality Immigration and Asylum 2002 which relate to supporting asylum seekers in accommodation centres.

We aim to publish a new country policy and information note as soon as possible.

The latest published Immigration Statistics detail inadmissibility decisions made and can be found online at:

How many people do we grant asylum or protection to? - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

A breakdown of these figures into nationality and gender is not currently available.

Quarterly statistics relating to the period between June and September 2021 are due to be published on 25 November. We are working to bring data in respect of the six month long-stop in line with current reporting and hope to publish this information in the same timeframe.

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

The latest published Immigration Statistics detail inadmissibility decisions made and can be found online at:

How many people do we grant asylum or protection to? - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

A breakdown of these figures into nationality and gender is not currently available.

Quarterly statistics relating to the period between June and September 2021 are due to be published on 25 November. We are working to bring data in respect of the six month long-stop in line with current reporting and hope to publish this information in the same timeframe.

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

Enforced returns to Afghanistan have been paused

Enforced returns to Afghanistan have been paused.

Afghan nationals who have an asylum claim or appeal that has not yet been decided are eligible to receive support under section 95 of the 1999 Act if they would otherwise be destitute. Furthermore, failed asylum seekers may be supported under section 4(2) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (1999 Act) if they would otherwise be destitute and meet other conditions set out in the Immigration and Asylum (Provision of Accommodation to Failed Asylum-

Failed asylum seekers who consider that they would be at risk of harm on return to Afghanistan because of the recent changes in the country are able to lodge further asylum submissions and would therefore be eligible to receive support under Regulation 3(2)(e) of the 2005 Regulations, subject to meeting the destitution criteria.

There are no plans to change the policy so that Afghans may not be evicted from accommodation provided under section 95 or 4(2) in any circumstances. Like others supported under the provisions, their support may be discontinued in a number of circumstances, including where it appears they are no longer destitute, where they are no longer living in the accommodation provided to them and where they are granted refugee status and therefore become eligible to take up employment or apply for mainstream benefits.

Figures on the number of asylum application decisions made in the first quarter of 2021 are due to be published on 27 May 2021. We are working to bring inadmissibility data in line with current reporting and hope to publish that information in the same timeframe.

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

The NPI consultation was open to people and organisations across the UK to share their views

The Home Office will consider responses to the consultation carefully, including the method for reporting on its findings, in line with our duties as the policy develops in this area

In relation to the devolved Administrations, efforts were made to meet with officials to discuss the plan however the invitations were declined as the devolved authorities did not feel able to meet with the Home Office. Further attempts to engage the devolved Administrations will continue.

The Government undertook a comprehensive consultation and engagement process on the New Plan for Immigration when the proposals were published, and providers of accommodation and advice services for asylum seekers have the opportunity to submit their views, in the same way as others. The consultation closed on the 6 May and we will carefully consider the outcome. Providers will be involved in the work to implement any changes.

The UK Government is considering options for how this proposal could be given effect.

One option for implementing the plans is to commence some or all of the provisions in the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 which relate to Accommodation Centres.

If an individual would otherwise be destitute, they would be eligible to be provided with accommodation and support to cover their essential living needs under sections 95 or 98 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

The first 12 months of a refugee's resettlement costs are funded by central government using the Official Development Assistance budget which amounts to £8,520 per person. For years 2-5 local authorities receive £12,000 per person overall; tapering from £5,000 in year 2, to £3,700 in year 3, to £2,300 in year 4 and £1,000 in year 5. Funding is also made available for healthcare, education, and to help local authorities with exceptional costs such as social care and housing adaptations.

This tariff funding will be made available to all local authorities who resettle refugees during 2021-22. The number of refugees resettled next year will be dependent on local authority capacity as we recover from the pandemic.

The Home Office publishes data on asylum applications in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of asylum applications lodged in the UK by the top 20 nationalities are published in table Asy_01c of the asylum and resettlement summary tables, which include a breakdown for year of application.

The ‘contents’ sheet contains an overview of all available data on asylum and resettlement

The latest data relate up to year ending December 2020.
Additionally, the Home Office publishes further data on asylum applications in Asy_D01 of the detailed asylum and resettlement datasets.

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

The Home Office publishes data on asylum claims made at ports of entry or “in country” and the latest figures can be found in table Asy_D01 within the Asylum and Resettlement datasets published on gov.uk. We do not publish further detail on the location of where an asylum claim is made as this is not held centrally on Home Office databases and could only be determined at disproportionate cost.

Home Office records indicate that a total of 7,341 Further Submissions in support of fresh asylum/protection claims were submitted in 2020 by individuals who had previously been refused asylum in the UK.

Where people who have previously been refused asylum in the UK wish to make representations in support of a fresh asylum application these are recorded as Further Submissions.

While a delay in receiving the Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) may make accessing public services more difficult for all customers, since 20 January 2021 the standard pre-delivery email to customers has included their BRP number and guidance on how to use the online right to work and right to rent services to prove their entitlements.

We are also investigating the possibility of including National Insurance Numbers in the same message to further assist customers.

Data relating to correspondence performance is published here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/customer-service-operations-data-november-2020

We are currently unable to break this down into complaints specifically related to BRP delays.

UVKI does not hold figures relating to the number of customers who have waited longer than 10 working days to receive their BRP after a positive decision between 2018 and 2020.

However, it does have service level agreements with its production provider the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA) and its secure delivery provider FedEx which took over the contract in February 2020. Prior to this, DX held the contract.

The DVLA has a target of producing 90% of BRPs within 24 hours of receiving the production request and 100% within 48 hours. It achieved the following:

FedEx and DX both had a target to attempt first delivery for 99% of BRPs within 48 working hours of collection of the BRP from DVLA.

DX consistently met this target during the years it had responsibility for the contract. For financial year 2020 to end December 2020 FedEx were achieving 94.4%. UKVI is working closely with FedEx to improve this performance and an improvement plan is in place to achieve this.

While a delay in receiving the Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) may make accessing public services more difficult for all customers, since 20 January 2021 the standard pre-delivery email to customers has included their BRP number and guidance on how to use the online right to work and right to rent services to prove their entitlements.

We are also investigating the possibility of including National Insurance Numbers in the same message to further assist customers.

Data relating to correspondence performance is published here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/customer-service-operations-data-november-2020

We are currently unable to break this down into complaints specifically related to BRP delays.

UVKI does not hold figures relating to the number of customers who have waited longer than 10 working days to receive their BRP after a positive decision between 2018 and 2020.

However, it does have service level agreements with its production provider the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA) and its secure delivery provider FedEx which took over the contract in February 2020. Prior to this, DX held the contract.

The DVLA has a target of producing 90% of BRPs within 24 hours of receiving the production request and 100% within 48 hours. It achieved the following:

FedEx and DX both had a target to attempt first delivery for 99% of BRPs within 48 working hours of collection of the BRP from DVLA.

DX consistently met this target during the years it had responsibility for the contract. For financial year 2020 to end December 2020 FedEx were achieving 94.4%. UKVI is working closely with FedEx to improve this performance and an improvement plan is in place to achieve this.

While a delay in receiving the Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) may make accessing public services more difficult for all customers, since 20 January 2021 the standard pre-delivery email to customers has included their BRP number and guidance on how to use the online right to work and right to rent services to prove their entitlements.

We are also investigating the possibility of including National Insurance Numbers in the same message to further assist customers.

Data relating to correspondence performance is published here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/customer-service-operations-data-november-2020

We are currently unable to break this down into complaints specifically related to BRP delays.

UVKI does not hold figures relating to the number of customers who have waited longer than 10 working days to receive their BRP after a positive decision between 2018 and 2020.

However, it does have service level agreements with its production provider the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA) and its secure delivery provider FedEx which took over the contract in February 2020. Prior to this, DX held the contract.

The DVLA has a target of producing 90% of BRPs within 24 hours of receiving the production request and 100% within 48 hours. It achieved the following:

FedEx and DX both had a target to attempt first delivery for 99% of BRPs within 48 working hours of collection of the BRP from DVLA.

DX consistently met this target during the years it had responsibility for the contract. For financial year 2020 to end December 2020 FedEx were achieving 94.4%. UKVI is working closely with FedEx to improve this performance and an improvement plan is in place to achieve this.

The Home Office are unable to state how many UKVI applications have had an official positive decision implemented at a different time from family members under the same application in 2018, 2019 and 2020 as this information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Asylum claims may include one or more family members who are accepted as dependant on the principal applicants claim. It is important to fully consider all the evidence available, including that provided by dependants or other family members who have made claims in their own right, and to recognise protection issues which may arise in the family context when considering such claims.

Dependants of an asylum applicant who have been included in the initial asylum claim will, if the principal applicant is granted Asylum, HP, Family or Private Life leave to remain (LTR) or Discretionary Leave, normally be granted leave of the same duration and status as the principal applicant