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 Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 20 January (HL3720), how many Burmese people have been granted asylum in each of the past ten years.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes details of the numbers of people granted asylum in the Immigration Statistics quarterly release on gov.uk. This includes grants of protection and of other leave last 10 years for Myanmar (Burma) nationals.
2014 | 44 |
2015 | 55 |
2016 | 7 |
2017 | 7 |
2018 | 7 |
2019 | 7 |
2020 | 5 |
2021 | 17 |
2022 | 26 |
2023 | 114 |
2024(Q1 to Q3 only) | 129 |
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many individuals from the Rohingya community have been granted refugee status each year over the past ten years; what consideration they have given to creating a special asylum route for Rohingya refugees; and what assessment they have made of the humanitarian impact of pushback policies conducted by nations in the region, including Malaysia.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold any data on specific asylum claims from the Rohingya community as data is only held and published at the nationality level.
However, the UK has been at the forefront of international efforts to support Rohingya refugees having contributed £406 million to the response in Bangladesh since 2017, as well as providing over £48 million to supporting the Rohingya and other Muslim minorities in Rakhine state, Myanmar.”
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the full range of assistance services, including housing and other provision, will be available to Syrian asylum seekers while their applications are on hold.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has a legal obligation, as set out in the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, to support asylum seekers (including any dependants) who would otherwise be destitute. This includes Syrian claimants who have had their cases paused temporarily.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of "prostitute’s cautions", on opportunities for employment and other stigmatisation of those affected and what relationship this holds with the natural right to justice; and whether they plan to abolish such cautions.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
For too long, people have been trapped within commercial sexual exploitation under the guise of prostitution. This Government will use every lever available to stop this. As prostitution is an extremely complex issue and there are a wide range of potential legislative approaches, further work is required to understand the options. We are currently considering policy options on how we can best support those impacted by prostitution and sexual exploitation as part of work towards a new strategy on tackling Violence Against Women and Girls.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the levels of transnational repression and other politically linked harassment taking place in the UK towards British residents and visitors with links to Bangladesh; and what steps they have taken in response.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The first duty of the government is to keep the country safe.
This Government is committed to responding to foreign interference, including those actions which amount to transnational repression. Home Office officials work closely with operational partners, the FCDO and other government departments to review the threat picture and determine how best to respond.
We continually assess potential threats in the UK, and take protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety in the UK very seriously including individuals with links to Bangladesh. Any attempt by any foreign power to intimidate, harass or harm individuals in the UK will not be tolerated and will be thoroughly investigated.
We will continue to implement measures in the National Security Act 2023, which make the UK a harder target for those states which seek to conduct hostile acts.
Anyone who thinks they might be a victim should report incidents or suspicious activity to the Police.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of funding for the Dover Port Health Authority in conjunction with UK Border Force to carry out checks for illegal personal imports of meat; and whether funding is adequate at other border points for arrivals by air and sea.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold this information in an easily accessible format; budget information is available only at overall directorate level and not at individual unit levels.
However, previous published financial figures for Border Force from 2023 to 2024 can be found at Home Office annual report and accounts: 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK.
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 assist women in Afghanistan who are at risk because of their activities promoting or supporting women's rights, democracy or human rights to come to the UK as refugees.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) currently provide routes for eligible people in Afghanistan to come to the United Kingdom.
The ACRS was designed to support those who have assisted UK efforts in Afghanistan and stood up for UK values, as well as vulnerable people. We have welcomed individuals under all three referral pathways on the ACRS, providing a route for resettlement to the UK for at-risk women and girls in Afghanistan and the region.
Flights are continuing to bring those eligible to the UK at pace.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the increase in the risk of wildfires as a result of climate change, what plans they have to ensure the safety of firefighters and communities in light of this increased risk, and whether they plan to introduce a national wildfire plan.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Preparing for the future not only means tackling the climate emergencies, but also adapting to the changes they will bring to our environment.
The Home Office works closely with other departments including the Met Office, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and stakeholders including National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) and the England and Wales Wildfire Forum (EWWF) to understand and mitigate the risk of wildfire as set out in the Wildfire Framework for England. The framework can be found at Wildfire Framework for England | Fire England.
In 24/25, the Home Office is funding a new National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to assess what additional wildfire national capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to the wildfire risk and to ensure coordination of approaches across the sector.
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 to address the declaration of incompatibility handed down by the High Court on 14 May, and to bring certain provisions of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, introduced by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, into compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights; and whether they will do so before the end of the current session of parliament.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
We are disappointed that the High Court has come to the decision it has. As with all decisions of this nature, we will now carefully consider the judgment and the options available to us going forward.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect the official evaluation of Operation Tacit to be published; and what steps they are planning in response.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The Director of Labour Market Enforcement (DLME) has undertaken an independent review of Operation Tacit. The objectives of the upcoming report can be found here Review of Operation Tacit - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The DLME will publish her findings in due course. The Home Office will consider all recommendations and respond appropriately.