Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to introducing a (1) registration, or (2) other oversight, scheme for companies providing security services, in association with the introduction of the Protect Duty.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Volume 1 of the report of the Manchester Arena Inquiry recommended that “consideration should be given to whether contractors who carry out security services should be required to be licensed” (Recommendation 8). The Government has given careful consideration to this and is not persuaded that licensing businesses in this way would deliver improvements in public safety that would be proportionate to the significant increases in regulatory burdens that this would entail. Instead, the Government has asked the Security Industry Authority, which regulates the private security industry, to consider how its voluntary Approved Contractor Scheme can help to further drive quality standards in security provision.
Separately, the National Counter Terrorism Office (NaCTSO) are looking to develop a voluntary Competent Person scheme. The Competent Person Scheme will involve a Competent Person in the Workplace qualification and the Counter Terrorism Security Specialist Register. This register will recognise existing skills and qualifications within the sector, whilst also providing reassurances to businesses that a counter terrorism specialist has the necessary skills to appropriately advise on risk and suitable mitigation measures.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect and reassure Thai nationals in the UK given recent attacks in other countries on those seen as critics of the current and former governments of Thailand.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We continually assess potential threats in the UK, and this Government takes the rights, freedoms, and safety of individuals and communities in the UK very seriously.
Through our excellent police forces and the agencies that work with them, we take a proactive approach to protecting individuals and communities from all manner of threats. Where we identify individuals who may be at heightened risk, we are front-footed in deploying protective security guidance and other measures where necessary.
As you would expect, Home Office officials work closely with the FCDO and DLUHC as well as other government departments in ensuring that the UK is a safe and welcoming place for all those from other countries, including Thai nationals.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take in response to the research by Nottingham Trent University which found that more than 90 per cent of hand car washes are likely to be employing workers illegally.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
Illegal working undercuts honest employers, puts vulnerable migrants at risk of exploitation, prevents legitimate job seekers from accessing employment and defrauds the public purse. Tackling this damaging crime remains a key priority and as the Prime Minister set out in his statement to Parliament on the 13th December we are increasing the number of illegal working raids by 50%.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to provide reassurance to the Uyghur, Tibetan, Hong Kong and other Chinese refugee communities in the UK about their security, following the 16 October attack on protesters outside the Chinese consulate.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
As the Minister for Security stated to the House of Commons on 1 November, the Home Office works closely with Departments across Whitehall and with devolved Administrations to ensure that our national security is protected and that, in particular, those who have chosen to settle here are free to engage in our democratic society without fear of the regimes that they have tried to leave behind.
Through our excellent police forces and the agencies that work with them, we take a proactive approach to protecting individuals and communities from all manner of threats. Where we identify individuals who may be at heightened risk, we are front-footed in deploying protective security guidance and other measures where necessary.
The upcoming National Security Bill will strengthen our legal powers to deal with transnational repression. Coercion, harassment or intimidation linked to a foreign power that interfere with the freedoms of individuals will be criminalised under the new foreign interference offence in the Bill.
Home Office Ministers have asked officials to step up the work to ensure that our approach to transnational repression is robust, and the Security Minister has asked our Department to review our approach to transnational repression as a matter of urgency. The Security Minister will provide an update on that work to the House in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the statement by the Prime Minister on Illegal Immigration on 13 December (HC Deb cols 885–8), what assessment they have made of the gender impacts of the aspiration that claims for asylum will be processed “in days or weeks, not months or years”, given the difficulties many victims of sexual violence may have in immediately disclosing the full extent of their experiences.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
We are committed to ensuring that all asylum claimants, including those who have suffered sexual violence, feel able to disclose their experiences early in the asylum process, so that decision-makers can consider that evidence and grant protection status where it is needed without undue delay.
We appreciate that it may be difficult for claimants to disclose sensitive information and we have gender sensitive processes in place, for example providing gender specific interviewers and interpreters where appropriate. If there is a discrepancy between the information someone provides at different stages in the asylum process, we will clarify this during the asylum interview. We will take account of the explanation the claimant provides alongside any other underlying factors such as gender, feelings of shame and social standing when assessing credibility and deciding whether the claimant qualifies for protection status.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the statement by the Prime Minister on Illegal Immigration on 13 December (HC Deb cols 885–8), whether the commitment to double the number of asylum caseworkers will be delivered by (1) an increase in the number of civil servants, or (2) a redeployment of existing civil servants from other areas of work.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
We have doubled the number of Asylum Decision Makers from 614 in 2021/22 to around 1,250 today through a range of recruitment exercises. We continue to recruit using standard Civil Service processes.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to assist seasonal workers whose contracts are terminated early, (2) to prevent brokerage fees from being levied in seasonal workers' home countries, and (3) to support unemployed seasonal workers to find work in agricultural labour jobs or other sectors.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The Seasonal Worker scheme operators are responsible for managing all aspects of the recruitment and placement of workers on UK farms and ensuring their welfare in the UK. This includes ensuring ethical recruitment practices, in line with Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority regulations; arranging a new employer if the worker requires it; and ensuring that workers are fully supported throughout their stay.
The Home Office closely monitors the scheme operators to ensure they are complying with their sponsor duties. Together with Defra, the Home Office also maintains regular contact with operators to ensure they adhere to requirements for ensuring the safety and wellbeing of seasonal workers. Non-compliance with the relevant guidance could result in the revocation of their sponsor licence.
Scheme operators must also be licensed by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority who, supported by the Home Office, are working with overseas agencies to prevent abuse of the system and educate workers about their rights in the UK, including not paying recruitment fees.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to including (1) Indian, (2) Kenyan, or (3) other national universities, from former colonial countries in the list of institutions whose graduates are eligible for the High Potential Individual Visa opening on 30 May.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many visa applications were made by Yemeni citizens to visit the UK in the past two years; how many were approved; how many were rejected; and how many were rejected but subsequently approved after appeal.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visa applications and outcomes by nationality in the Immigration Statistics Quartley release, which can be found on gov.uk.
Data on the number of Visitor visa applications from Yemeni nationals, and data on Visitor visa grants and refusals to Yemeni nationals are published on the attached document.
Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to calendar year 2021.
Additionally, the Home Office publishes a high-level overview of the data in the summary tables of the attached. The ‘contents’ sheet contains an overview of all available data on entry clearance visas.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the 'Research and statistice calender, which can also be found on gov.uk.
The Home Office do not publish statistics on the number of grants after appeal. However, these statistics are kept under constant review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking account of user needs.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people whose applications to stay in the UK had been refused were returned to Afghanistan in the past five years.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office publishes data on the number of returns from the UK in each quarter in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly release’. The latest data are published in Ret_D02 of the Returns detailed tables. (See attached for information) This includes information on the number of people returned to each country. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relate to the year ending December 2020. Data to the end of March 2021 is due to be published on 26 August.
The table below covers the period of Quarter 1 - 2017 to Quarter 1 2021 over the last five years.
| 2017 Q1 | 2017 Q2 | 2017 Q3 | 2017 Q4 | 2018 Q1 | 2018 Q2 | 2018 Q3 | 2018 Q4 | 2019 Q1 | 2019 Q2 | 2019 Q3 | 2019 Q4 | 2020 Q1 | 2020 Q2 | 2020 Q3 | 2020 Q4 | 2021 Q1 |
Grand Total | 13905 | 11912 | 13005 | 12418 | 11656 | 10456 | 11036 | 11445 | 10439 | 9237 | 9004 | 9529 | 7207 | 1495 | 4479 | 5075 | 4565 |
The Home Office seeks to return people who do not have any legal right to stay in the UK, which includes people who:
The published data relate to all returns, regardless of reason for return.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’