Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to support parity of treatment for infected blood victims across the UK via the infected blood support schemes.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government is committed to working with the Devolved Governments to develop an effective response that delivers across the UK. I also note the parity agreement reached in 2021 which enabled the four national financial Infected Blood support schemes to align, resulting in broader parity in annual payments and lump sums. In December 2023 the Government announced the introduction of a bespoke psychological service in England, to be in place by Summer 2024, bringing it alongside the other Infected Blood Support Schemes across the UK.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his planned timetable is for interim compensation payments under the Infected Blood Payment Scheme; and if he will take steps to ensure that those payments will begin within the 2023-24 financial year.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
In October 2022, the Government made interim payments of £100,000 to those infected and bereaved partners registered with the existing Infected Blood Support Schemes, as recommended in the Inquiry’s first interim report. We are actively looking at the recommendations of the Inquiry, including the recommendation for more interim payments, and the Government will respond to the recommendations of the final report following its publication on 20 May.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will bring forward amendments to the Victims and Prisoners Bill to ensure parity of treatment for infected blood victims across the UK.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government recognises that the Inquiry's second interim report made a recommendation that compensation be delivered by a UK-wide central body in the interests of parity, and we remain committed to working with the Devolved Governments where appropriate to develop an effective response that delivers for victims across the UK.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information his Department holds on the number of asylum seekers that were affected by (a) mould and (b) other damp conditions in (i) social housing, (ii) the private rented sector and (iii) hotel accommodation in the last 12 months.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office ensures that all asylum accommodation is safe, habitable, fit for purpose and meets all regulatory requirements.
Home Office accommodation providers are required to visit each property at least monthly, and assurance that contractual requirements are met is tested by the Home Office Contract Assurance Team, which inspects properties and undertakes other assurance activities on an intelligence-led basis.
All asylum seekers have access to a 24/7 Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility (AIRE) service provided for the Home Office by Migrant Help, where any concerns regarding accommodation standards can be raised. Issues will then be investigated and addressed in accordance with strict contractual target timeframes.
The information you have requested is not held in a readily reportable format and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases of (a) self-harm, (b) depression and (c) suicidal ideation have been reported by people living in government-provided asylum accommodation in (i) hotels, (ii) barges, (iii) former military sites and (iv) detention facilities and removal centres in each of the last 15 years.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Central records on the number of cases of self-harm and suicidal ideation that have been reported in immigration removal centres (IRCs) are not held as far back as 15 years. Additionally, no central records on the number of cases of depression reported in IRCs are held. This information relates to health conditions which are treated as medical in confidence and therefore the Home Office would not necessarily know if someone in detention was experiencing depression.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers there are in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland by ethnic group as of 25 January 2024.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum applications received is published in table Asy_D01 of the ‘Asylum applications, decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’. This data is only at national level and includes nationality breakdowns, but not ethnic breakdown.
Data on asylum seekers in receipt of support by UK region is published in table Asy_D09 of the ‘Asylum support’ detailed datasets. Not all asylum seekers will require support. The data does not include location information for those who are not on support.
Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of each workbook. The latest data relates to 30 September 2023. Data up to the end of December 2023 will be published on 29 February 2024 and data up to the end of March 2023 will be published on 23 May 2024.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers per capita of the general population are accommodated in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Data on immigration groups by devolved administration is published in table Reg_01 of the Regional and local authority data. The number of people under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, the Afghan resettlement programme and the supported asylum population and the per capita figure for these three pathways combined is published. Data on the supported population does not include people who are not receiving state support (such as unsupported asylum seekers).
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an estimate of the number and proportion of (a) businesses and (b) workers in the hospitality sector that will be affected by proposed increases to the minimum salary requirements for a skilled worker visa in (i) the UK and (ii) Scotland.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Analytical work has been undertaken across Government to support decision making in this process, and an Impact Assessment will be developed in due course.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on infected blood compensation payments.
Answered by John Lamont - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The Government is committed to working with the Devolved Governments, where appropriate, to explore what options are available to develop an effective response to the inquiry's recommendations that delivers across the UK.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has sought legal advice on the potential implications of continued approval of arms export licences where (a) components and (b) arms are known to be going to conflict zones.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) is comprised of subject matter experts and officials in the Department for Business and Trade, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the Ministry of Defence.
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade receives legal advice as appropriate, on all matters related to export licensing, as part of advice from officials.
Any legal advice received is subject to legal professional privilege and as such we do not comment on legal advice that may or may not have been sought or received.