Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Shaws (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Afghans have been accepted under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme whose resettlement is suspended; what is the cause of, and what steps are being taken to resolve, such suspensions; and what assistance is being provided to families pending resettlement.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We continue to honour our commitment to bring eligible Afghans to the UK and plans are underway to relocate families as soon as possible. Data on how many Afghans have been accepted on ACRS and are in third countries is internal operational data and not for release at this time.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Shaws (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how are decisions made on, and what is the process for, resettling more Afghans from Pakistan who are facing expulsion in addition to the 3,000 already accepted under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme; and what steps they are taking in that regard, including on prioritising the 20 female Afghan judges who are in Pakistan.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Resettlement of eligible Afghans remains a top priority for this government. As of June 2023, around 24,600 vulnerable people affected by the events in Afghanistan have been brought to safety. This includes British Nationals and their families, Afghans who loyally served the UK and others identified as particularly at-risk, such as campaigners for women’s rights, human rights defenders, Chevening scholars, journalists, judges and members of the LGBT+ community.
We are aware of the recent Government of Pakistan announcements regarding Afghans in Pakistan and appreciate the impact of this on those awaiting resettlement. HMG has engaged intensively with the Government of Pakistan to secure assurances that none of those eligible under the UK’s Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will be subject to deportation.
Visas continue to be issued to individuals eligible for the ACRS and ARAP schemes and flights are continuing to bring eligible Afghans to the UK.
The ACRS is not open to applications. Instead, eligible individuals are prioritised and referred for resettlement to the UK through the existing pathways under this scheme. We are not certain which female Afghan judges the question refers to; however our Afghan schemes have been designed to be fair and equitable in identifying those in need of resettlement or relocation to the UK. As has been the practice under successive governments, the Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases.
We recognise there are many vulnerable individuals who remain in Afghanistan and the region. Whilst the UK maintains a generous resettlement offer, we must recognise that the capacity of the UK to resettle people is not unlimited, and difficult decisions have to be made on who will be prioritised for resettlement.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Shaws (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to provide visas to Afghan women at risk, especially judges, lawyers, MPs, journalists and human rights defenders, and (2) to work with domestic and international partners on identifying such women.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), announced on 18 August, will provide those put at risk by recent events in Afghanistan with a route to safety. The scheme will prioritise:
In delivering the ACRS, the Government will work with the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR and other international partners in the region to identify and resettle people at risk, including women and girls.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Shaws (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Afghan women at risk, including judges, lawyers, MPs, journalists and human rights defenders, were resettled to the UK in August and September.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The United Kingdom evacuated around 5,000 Afghan nationals under the ARAP scheme and around 500 special cases of particularly vulnerable Afghans, including Chevening scholars, journalists, human rights defenders, campaigners for women’s rights, judges, and many others. Around half of those resettled were women.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Shaws (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what practical assistance they are providing to Afghan women, particularly judges, lawyers, MPs, journalists, human rights defenders and others at particular risk.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
A bespoke new safe and legal route will welcome Afghans most at risk who have been forced to flee the country, including women, girls and religious and other minorities given their particular vulnerability, to the UK. The ACRS will prioritise:
Those who have assisted the UK efforts in Afghanistan and stood up for values such as democracy, women’s rights and freedom of speech, rule of law (for example, judges, women’s rights activists, journalists); and vulnerable people, including women and girls at risk, and members of minority groups at risk (including ethnic and religious minorities and LGBT+).
Under Operation Warm Welcome, we are taking a cross-government approach to ensuring Afghans arriving in the UK are able to rebuild their lives, find work, pursue education and integrate with their local communities.
All those brought to the UK under ACRS will have the right to work, access to education and healthcare and be able to apply for public funds. To ensure they will be supported properly, changes will be made to legislation so that, if necessary, people arriving under ACRS do not need to meet the habitual residence test.
They will also receive comprehensive integration support as they start their new lives in the UK. A package of support to acclimatise to the UK, learn English, and find work, will enable rapid self-sufficiency and social integration in UK communities.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Shaws (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have frozen the assets of, and barred visas for, those Saudi nationals and their family members who have been identified as having been involved in, or as having been accessories to, the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Asset Freezing is the responsibility of the FCO and HM Treasury, information on individuals whose assets have been frozen can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/office-of-financial-sanctions-implementation.
The Government has a long-established practice of not routinely commenting on the details of individual immigration cases.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Shaws (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which organisations they have commissioned to provide support to applicants to the EU Settlement Scheme.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Details of the 57 organisations awarded EU Settlement grant scheme funding will be announced mid-May once the commercial activity has been concluded.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Shaws (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
Her Majesty's Government what measures will be contained in the domestic violence legislation announced in the Queen's Speech.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
As announced in the Queen’s Speech, the Government will bring forward legislation to protect the victims of domestic violence and abuse.
The Bill will contain a number of measures designed to protect victims and will give the justice system greater guidance and clarity about the devastating impact of domestic violence and abuse on families.
It will establish a Domestic Violence and Abuse Commissioner, to stand up for victims and survivors, raise public awareness, monitor the response of statutory agencies and local authorities and hold the justice system to account in tackling domestic abuse.
It will also define domestic abuse in law, and create a consolidated new domestic abuse civil prevention and protection order regime. The Bill will ensure that if abusive behaviour involves a child, then the court can hand down a sentence that reflects the devastating life-long impact that abuse can have on a child.
The Bill is part of a programme of work designed to transform our approach to domestic violence and ensure that victims have the confidence to come forward and report their experiences, safe in the knowledge that the state and justice system will do everything it can to both support them and their children, and pursue their abuser.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Shaws (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they have not yet responded to the report by the EU Justice Sub-Committee, <i>The UK’s opt-in Protocol: implications of the Government’s approach</i>, published on 24 March 2015; and when they plan to issue the response.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
As a result of the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU on 23 June, the Government is considering it’s approach to the application of the JHA Opt-in and will inform the Parliamentary Scrutiny Committees once the Government has completed its consideration.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Shaws (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the letter by Lord Bates to Lord Rosser on 8 January (DEP2016–0028) and the remarks by Lords Bates on 18 January (HL Deb, col 624), which immigration offences led, following conviction, to the forfeiture of assets totalling £966,024 in 2014–15; and how much was forfeited in total for each offence.
Answered by Lord Bates
There were 16 confiscation orders amounting to £966,024, these are broken down to the following offences.
Offence | Amount |
Forgery and Counterfeiting | £162,997.55 |
Facilitation investigation | £10,665.95 |
Sham Marriage - assisting unlawful immigration | £85,519.29 |
Fraud and Money Laundering | £2.00 |
Conspiracy to Facilitate a Breach of Immigration Law | £25,466.62 |
Conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration | £330,352.72 |
Fraud by false representation | £1,020.32 |
Assisting Unlawful Immigration into the UK | £350,000.00 |
In the case of Money Laundering, the small total is because of nominal confiscation orders. A nominal confiscation order for a small amount (such as £1), may be imposed where the court finds that the defendant has benefitted from his criminal conduct, but has no realisable assets. If circumstances change then the order can be revisited.