Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to complete the Home Office review of the ‘compliant environment’.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
In response to Recommendation 2 of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review, Wendy Williams returned to the Department in September 2021 to review our progress in implementing the recommendations of that Review and the commitments we made in the Comprehensive Improvement Plan. Her Progress Update was published in March this year.
Wendy concludes that there is no doubt the Department has risen to the challenge she set for us, and she acknowledges there are several areas where very good progress has been made. Wendy also rightly holds us to account where we have not made sufficient progress and we know there is more to do.
The progress update does not include new recommendations and we will continue to drive forward progress on Wendy’s original 30 recommendations. We have laid the foundations for radical change in the department and a total transformation of culture. We are committed to long-lasting meaningful improvement of how the Home Office delivers.
Turning to the review of the compliant environment – recommendation 7 of the Review - evaluation of these measures individually and cumulatively will be an ongoing process. The compliant environment is made up of a complex set of measures. The approach to evaluation is staged, delivering a range of outputs at different times as is standard practice in establishing an evaluation. I can offer an assurance that we will not wait to make changes where they are needed and policies will be kept under review.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many refugees who had entered the UK through safe and legal routes were granted leave to remain (1) every year since 2015, and (2) broken down by route.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Information on safe and legal routes is available via the link below:
Nationality and Borders Bill: Factsheet Safe and Legal Routes - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The Home Office publishes data on resettlement in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of refugees resettled by resettlement scheme are published in table Asy_D02 of the asylum and resettlement detailed datasets. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to Q1 2022.
The resettlement data in Asy_D02 does not cover data relating to the individuals relocated under the Afghanistan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) or Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP). The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) opened in January 2022, with the first eligible person relocated under the scheme on 6 January 2022.
The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) launched on 1 April 2021, and provisional data show more than 7,000 people have been relocated under the scheme so far. Statistics on these schemes will be included in future editions of Immigration Statistics.
Further details on the ACRS and ARAP can be found in the FACTSHEET: ACRS and other routes and Operation Warm Welcome: progress update.
Data on the number of Family Reunion visas granted are published in table Fam_D01 of the asylum and resettlement detailed datasets. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to Q1 2022.
The Home Office publishes data on the number of applications and grants of leave on the British National Overseas (BN(O)) route in the “How many people come to the UK each year (including visitors)?” topic and underlying datasets of the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Information on the number of visas granted under the Ukraine Family Scheme and the Homes for Ukraine Scheme can be found in our published data on the GOV.UK webpage: Ukraine Family Scheme and Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (Homes for Ukraine) visa data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to reports that children have been treated as adults and issued 'notices of intent' for removal to Rwanda, how many asylum seekers claiming to be children have been assessed to be adults by the Home Office on the basis that their physical appearance and demeanour very strongly suggested that they were significantly over 18 years of age since 1 January.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Immigration officers operating at the border perform a difficult but vital function in preventing abuse of the immigration system and protecting genuine children from the safeguarding risks associated with allowing adults to access safe spaces which are properly reserved for children.
The UK Supreme Court recently considered and fully endorsed the lawfulness of the ‘significantly over 18’ policy for initial age assessments conducted at the border by immigration officers in the case of BF Eritrea UKSC 2019/0147.
Furthermore, the initial age assessment process represents only the first stage of a broader age assessment procedure. It has been designed to allow those who wish to maintain their claim to be a child to seek assessment by a local authority. It is long established Home Office policy to give significant weight to a local authority age assessment.
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of age disputes and outcomes are published in table Asy_D05 of the asylum and resettlement detailed datasets. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data covers up to March 2022.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’
The published statistics for age disputes indicate there were 428 disputes raised on the basis of physical appearance and demeanour in the first quarter of 2022. Of the 255 disputes resolved in the same period, 126 cases were resolved with an outcome the person was an adult and 129 concluded the person was a child.
The statistics do not distinguish between those who have been assessed to be significantly over 18 and others who have been age disputed but referred directly to a local authority for further assessment. Detail of the volume of age dispute cases for the following quarter will be made available in future planned statistical publications.
Anyone who is the subject of an age dispute will be excluded from inadmissibility procedures as a matter of policy, where either the individual is undergoing assessment by a local authority, where there are ongoing legal proceedings on the subject of age or where the Home Office accepts a subsequent assessment by a local authority that the individual is a child.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to lay regulations to bring section 68 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 into force.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
We know that controlling or coercive behaviour does not stop at the point of separation. Indeed, it can persist and often increase as the perpetrator seeks to retain control over the victim. That’s why Section 68 of our landmark Domestic Abuse Act amended the definition of ‘personally connected’ which removed the ‘living together’ requirement for the controlling or coercive behaviour offence. This means the offence will apply to intimate partners, ex-partners or family members, regardless of whether the victim and perpetrator live together. In order for the new offence to be effectively implemented and to further support frontline agencies in identifying, investigating and evidencing domestic abuse offences, we are updating the Controlling or Coercive Behaviour Statutory Guidance which will be published later this year.
On 30th April, we launched a public consultation on the updated draft guidance to garner wider views, with the opportunity for all interested stakeholders, including victims and users of support and prevention services, to respond. The consultation will run for eight weeks, closing on 25th June. It is important we get this guidance right to best support victims of controlling or coercive behaviour. This wide-reaching public consultation will allow us to produce a robust and comprehensive document which reflects the needs of victims and ensures that professionals can recognise and respond to controlling or coercive behaviour appropriately.
We are making good progress implementing the Domestic Abuse Act and have already implemented important provisions including the offence of threatening to disclose intimate images; the offence of non-fatal strangulation; new duties for local authorities around the provision of accommodation-based support; and providing automatic eligibility for special measures (e.g. giving evidence from behind a screen) for victims in the family court. We are working at pace to implement the remaining provisions, including the extension of the controlling or coercive behaviour offence.
As the Government needs to update the Controlling or Coercive Behaviour Statutory Guidance and provide the police and courts with sufficient time to prepare for the implementation of the new offence, Section 68 of the Domestic Abuse Act will be implemented later in 2022. We hope to be able to provide clearer timeframes post-consultation and will keep stakeholders updated throughout this process.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have now set up the independent Monitoring Committee under the Memorandum of Understanding with the government of Rwanda concerning the asylum partnership arrangement; if so, who are the members of the Committee; and if not, when will it be set up.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Monitoring Committee for the Migration and Economic Development Partnership is in the process of being set up. Details will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recommendation by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists that they should set minimum standards for asylum accommodation for pregnant woman and their babies.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Our Asylum Accommodation and Support Contracts (AASC) govern the relationship between the Home Office and the three companies contracted to provide asylum accommodation. They contain a detailed list of requirements for accommodation, including initial accommodation, dispersed accommodation and required accommodation standards. These requirements all meet or exceed the Government’s Decent Homes Standard for the private rented sector.
In contracting with our accommodation providers, we are ensuring that pregnant women are dispersed into accommodation suitable for both the mother and the baby, both before and after birth. This is in line with our existing published guidance on healthcare needs and pregnancy dispersal.
Accommodation provider performance in relation to accommodation standards is monitored on a regular basis and we have tight timescales in which accommodation providers must resolve issues within our accommodation.
Detailed specifications on the services which have to be provided are set out in a published Statement of Requirements for the contracts.
Additionally, the Home Office meets regularly with health colleagues, including a Maternal Health Sub Group, with relevant clinicians, to discuss further improvements to the asylum support system for women with maternal health needs.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 26 May (HLWS61), whether and when they will publish their assessment of children’s best interests in relation to children’s statutory rights to British citizenship that underpins the review fees.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Answer to HL637:
Local Authorities were notified of the introduction of a fee exception in the Local Government Bulletin issued on 27 May by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities.
The Home Office is continuing to reach out to a wide range of organisations who have an interest in the fee exception and waiver to notify them of their introduction.
Answer to HL638:
There are no plans to publish the assessment of the children’s best interests in relation to the child registration fee. The Written Statement provided a summary of the conclusions of that assessment, outlining why the Home Office has opted for the specific approach of a waiver and exception.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 26 May (HLWS61), what steps they are taking to ensure that all local authorities are made aware of the fee exception.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Answer to HL637:
Local Authorities were notified of the introduction of a fee exception in the Local Government Bulletin issued on 27 May by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities.
The Home Office is continuing to reach out to a wide range of organisations who have an interest in the fee exception and waiver to notify them of their introduction.
Answer to HL638:
There are no plans to publish the assessment of the children’s best interests in relation to the child registration fee. The Written Statement provided a summary of the conclusions of that assessment, outlining why the Home Office has opted for the specific approach of a waiver and exception.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many in-person legal visits in total took place between 1 January and 31 March at (1) Brook House, (2) Tinsley House, (3) Yarl's Wood, (4) Dungavel, (5) Harmondsworth, (6) Colnbrook, and (7) Derwentside, immigration removal centres (IRC); and how many in-person legal visits in total have taken place at each of these IRCs since 1st April 2022.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Detained individuals are advised of their right to legal representation, and how they can obtain such representation, within 24 hours of their arrival at an Immigration Removal Centre (IRC).
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) operates free legal advice surgeries in IRCs in England. Individuals who are detained are entitled to receive up to 30 minutes of advice regardless of financial eligibility or the merits of their case. There is no restriction on the number of surgeries an individual may attend. If an individual who is detained requires substantive advice on a matter which is in scope of legal aid, full legal advice can be provided if the statutory legal aid means and merits criteria are met.
Legal visits can take place from both legal providers attending under the Legal Aid Detained Duty Advice Scheme and other legal providers visiting their clients who are in detention. In line with Government advice on social distancing, during the pandemic, face to face legal visits were facilitated in exceptional circumstances, and only if other means of contact (Skype, telephone, email) were not feasible or appropriate. In light of changes to Government guidance, face to face legal visits can now be facilitated. Safe systems of work are in place to ensure the safety of detained individuals, onsite staff and visitors during these visits.
The number of in-person legal visits, which includes both legal providers attending under the Legal Aid Detained Duty Advice Scheme and other legal providers visiting their clients who are in detention, that took place between 1 January and 26 May 2022, is set out in the table below:
In person legal visits | ||||
| Detained Duty Advice Scheme | Total: all other in-person legal visits* | ||
| 1 January– 31 March 2022 | 1 April 2022 to date | 1 January– 31 March 2022 | 1 April 2022 to date |
Brook House | 4 | 10 | 90 | 22 |
Colnbrook | 0 | 0 | 25 | 55 |
Derwentside | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
Dungavel | N/A | 2 | 1 | |
Harmondsworth | 0 | 0 | 34 | 111 |
Tinsley House | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Yarl’s Wood | 6 | 11 | 36 | 28 |
*Does not include in-person legal visits carried out under the DDA Scheme
This is provisional Home Office management information that has not been assured to the standard of official statistics.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many in-person legal visits took place under the Detained Duty Advice Scheme (DDAS) between 1 January and 31 March at (1) Brook House, (2) Tinsley House, (3) Yarl's Wood, (4) Dungavel, (5) Harmondsworth, (6) Colnbrook, and (7) Derwentside, immigration removal centres (IRC); and how many in-person legal visits have taken place under the DDAS at each of these IRCs since 1 April.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Detained individuals are advised of their right to legal representation, and how they can obtain such representation, within 24 hours of their arrival at an Immigration Removal Centre (IRC).
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) operates free legal advice surgeries in IRCs in England. Individuals who are detained are entitled to receive up to 30 minutes of advice regardless of financial eligibility or the merits of their case. There is no restriction on the number of surgeries an individual may attend. If an individual who is detained requires substantive advice on a matter which is in scope of legal aid, full legal advice can be provided if the statutory legal aid means and merits criteria are met.
Legal visits can take place from both legal providers attending under the Legal Aid Detained Duty Advice Scheme and other legal providers visiting their clients who are in detention. In line with Government advice on social distancing, during the pandemic, face to face legal visits were facilitated in exceptional circumstances, and only if other means of contact (Skype, telephone, email) were not feasible or appropriate. In light of changes to Government guidance, face to face legal visits can now be facilitated. Safe systems of work are in place to ensure the safety of detained individuals, onsite staff and visitors during these visits.
The number of in-person legal visits, which includes both legal providers attending under the Legal Aid Detained Duty Advice Scheme and other legal providers visiting their clients who are in detention, that took place between 1 January and 26 May 2022, is set out in the table below:
In person legal visits | ||||
| Detained Duty Advice Scheme | Total: all other in-person legal visits* | ||
| 1 January– 31 March 2022 | 1 April 2022 to date | 1 January– 31 March 2022 | 1 April 2022 to date |
Brook House | 4 | 10 | 90 | 22 |
Colnbrook | 0 | 0 | 25 | 55 |
Derwentside | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
Dungavel | N/A | 2 | 1 | |
Harmondsworth | 0 | 0 | 34 | 111 |
Tinsley House | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Yarl’s Wood | 6 | 11 | 36 | 28 |
*Does not include in-person legal visits carried out under the DDA Scheme
This is provisional Home Office management information that has not been assured to the standard of official statistics.