Asked by: Apsana Begum (Independent - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on foreign travel advice for Bangladesh published by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office between 19 July 2024 and 29 August 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on enforced returns and asylum-related enforced returns in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’.
Quarterly data on enforced returns by destination are published in table Ret_D02 of the ‘returns detailed datasets’. This data covers the period 2004 to June 2024.
Data on asylum-related enforced returns for the top 10 nationalities, ranked by volume, are published in table Ret_04 of the ‘returns summary datasets’. This data is for the year ending June 2024.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Deportations are a subset of returns (defined in the ‘user guide glossary’). The published statistics refer to enforced returns which include deportations, as well as cases where a person has breached UK immigration laws, and those removed under other administrative and illegal entry powers that have declined to leave voluntarily.
The Home Office and FCDO are in regular communication regarding migration issues. FCDO travel advice is aimed at British nationals and is not the relevant test for deciding protection claims. The Home Office remains satisfied that Bangladesh is currently safe for returns of those with no legal basis to stay in the UK.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Independent - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were deported to Bangladesh between 19 July 2024 and 29 August 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on enforced returns and asylum-related enforced returns in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’.
Quarterly data on enforced returns by destination are published in table Ret_D02 of the ‘returns detailed datasets’. This data covers the period 2004 to June 2024.
Data on asylum-related enforced returns for the top 10 nationalities, ranked by volume, are published in table Ret_04 of the ‘returns summary datasets’. This data is for the year ending June 2024.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Deportations are a subset of returns (defined in the ‘user guide glossary’). The published statistics refer to enforced returns which include deportations, as well as cases where a person has breached UK immigration laws, and those removed under other administrative and illegal entry powers that have declined to leave voluntarily.
The Home Office and FCDO are in regular communication regarding migration issues. FCDO travel advice is aimed at British nationals and is not the relevant test for deciding protection claims. The Home Office remains satisfied that Bangladesh is currently safe for returns of those with no legal basis to stay in the UK.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Independent - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people seeking asylum were deported to Bangladesh from 19 July 2024 to 29 August 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on enforced returns and asylum-related enforced returns in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’.
Quarterly data on enforced returns by destination are published in table Ret_D02 of the ‘returns detailed datasets’. This data covers the period 2004 to June 2024.
Data on asylum-related enforced returns for the top 10 nationalities, ranked by volume, are published in table Ret_04 of the ‘returns summary datasets’. This data is for the year ending June 2024.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Deportations are a subset of returns (defined in the ‘user guide glossary’). The published statistics refer to enforced returns which include deportations, as well as cases where a person has breached UK immigration laws, and those removed under other administrative and illegal entry powers that have declined to leave voluntarily.
The Home Office and FCDO are in regular communication regarding migration issues. FCDO travel advice is aimed at British nationals and is not the relevant test for deciding protection claims. The Home Office remains satisfied that Bangladesh is currently safe for returns of those with no legal basis to stay in the UK.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Independent - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the foreign travel advice for Bangladesh published by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, updated on 27 August 2024, on the returns agreement with that country.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The first UK-Bangladesh Joint Working Group (JWG) on Home Affairs was held on 16 May and will be held on an annual basis. During the dialogue, and in compliance with Home Office disclosure and confidentiality guidance and the Immigration Rules, asylum and migration issues were discussed. To date, the Standard Operating Procedure for returns, signed at the JWG, has yet to be fully implemented by the Government of Bangladesh, though returns to Bangladesh continue in the meantime.
The Home Office and FCDO are in regular communication regarding human rights issues in Bangladesh. FCDO travel advice is aimed at British nationals and is not the relevant test for deciding protection claims. The Home Office remains satisfied that Bangladesh is currently safe for returns of those with no legal basis to stay in the UK.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Independent - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department held discussions with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on Bangladesh’s human rights record before a returns agreement was signed with that country in May 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The first UK-Bangladesh Joint Working Group (JWG) on Home Affairs was held on 16 May and will be held on an annual basis. During the dialogue, and in compliance with Home Office disclosure and confidentiality guidance and the Immigration Rules, asylum and migration issues were discussed. To date, the Standard Operating Procedure for returns, signed at the JWG, has yet to be fully implemented by the Government of Bangladesh, though returns to Bangladesh continue in the meantime.
The Home Office and FCDO are in regular communication regarding human rights issues in Bangladesh. FCDO travel advice is aimed at British nationals and is not the relevant test for deciding protection claims. The Home Office remains satisfied that Bangladesh is currently safe for returns of those with no legal basis to stay in the UK.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Independent - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been deported to Bangladesh as a result of the returns agreement dated 16 May 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The first UK-Bangladesh Joint Working Group (JWG) on Home Affairs was held on 16 May and will be held on an annual basis. During the dialogue, and in compliance with Home Office disclosure and confidentiality guidance and the Immigration Rules, asylum and migration issues were discussed. To date, the Standard Operating Procedure for returns, signed at the JWG, has yet to be fully implemented by the Government of Bangladesh, though returns to Bangladesh continue in the meantime.
The Home Office and FCDO are in regular communication regarding human rights issues in Bangladesh. FCDO travel advice is aimed at British nationals and is not the relevant test for deciding protection claims. The Home Office remains satisfied that Bangladesh is currently safe for returns of those with no legal basis to stay in the UK.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Independent - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Joint Working Group on Home Affairs with Bangladesh has met in the last 12 months.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The first UK-Bangladesh Joint Working Group (JWG) on Home Affairs was held on 16 May and will be held on an annual basis. During the dialogue, and in compliance with Home Office disclosure and confidentiality guidance and the Immigration Rules, asylum and migration issues were discussed. To date, the Standard Operating Procedure for returns, signed at the JWG, has yet to be fully implemented by the Government of Bangladesh, though returns to Bangladesh continue in the meantime.
The Home Office and FCDO are in regular communication regarding human rights issues in Bangladesh. FCDO travel advice is aimed at British nationals and is not the relevant test for deciding protection claims. The Home Office remains satisfied that Bangladesh is currently safe for returns of those with no legal basis to stay in the UK.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Independent - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has held recent discussions with their counterparts in Bangladesh on the asylum claims made in the UK by people from that country.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The first UK-Bangladesh Joint Working Group (JWG) on Home Affairs was held on 16 May and will be held on an annual basis. During the dialogue, and in compliance with Home Office disclosure and confidentiality guidance and the Immigration Rules, asylum and migration issues were discussed. To date, the Standard Operating Procedure for returns, signed at the JWG, has yet to be fully implemented by the Government of Bangladesh, though returns to Bangladesh continue in the meantime.
The Home Office and FCDO are in regular communication regarding human rights issues in Bangladesh. FCDO travel advice is aimed at British nationals and is not the relevant test for deciding protection claims. The Home Office remains satisfied that Bangladesh is currently safe for returns of those with no legal basis to stay in the UK.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Independent - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the statement entitled Domestic Abuse Commissioner responds to Criminal Justice reforms in the King’s Speech, published on 7 November 2023, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to ensure perpetrators of domestic abuse can be removed from the police force and police staff as well as changes to police regulations to remove warrant cards from police officers under investigation for violence against women and girls offences.
Answered by Laura Farris
Existing Regulations provide Chief Constables with a power to suspend officers under investigation, including where it is in the public interest to do so.
In February, Government announced that it will legislate for automatic suspension in cases where an officer is charged with an indictable only offence, and a presumption of suspension where an officer is charged with an either way offence. When suspended, an officer is suspended from the Office of Constable and its associated powers. Forces should remove officers’ warrant cards from them where this happens.
The Government is further introducing measures to strengthen the system for removing officers who are not fit to serve. These include a presumption of dismissal where officers are found to have committed gross misconduct and a clarified route to remove officers who fail to hold and maintain vetting.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Independent - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the risk of the far right and racists targeting (a) Poplar and Limehouse constituency and (b) other diverse areas; and what steps he is taking to protect communities from hate (i) crimes and (ii) speech.
Answered by Laura Farris
We have a robust legislative framework in place to respond to hate crimes which target race and religion and expect the police to fully investigate these appalling offences and work with the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice. Our priority is to get more police onto our streets, cut crime, protect the public and bring more criminals to justice. We are supporting the police by providing them with the resources they need. Part of this necessitates police recruitment and training - there are now over 149,000 officers in England and Wales, which is higher than the previous peak in March 2010 before the Police Uplift Programme. Funding for the Metropolitan Police Service will be up to £3.5bn in 2024/25, an increase of up to £125.8m when compared to 2023/24. As of 30 September 2023, the Metropolitan Police Service has over 35,000 officers (35,006).
We are committed to protecting all communities from hate crime. In 2023/24, the Home Office is providing up to £50.9 million to protect faith communities. This includes £18 million through the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant, £29.4 million through the new Protective Security for Mosques scheme and a scheme for Muslim faith schools, and £3.5 million for the places of worship of other (non-Muslim and non-Jewish) faiths.
The Government continues to fund True Vision, an online hate crime reporting portal designed so that victims of all forms of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report. We also fund the National Online Hate Crime Hub, a central capability designed to provide expert advice to support individual local police forces in dealing with online hate crime.