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Written Question
Visas: Skilled Workers
Wednesday 20th December 2023

Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what date the new earnings threshold for skilled worker visa applications, including spousal and dependent applications, will come into effect; and whether it will apply to (a) existing applications, (b) renewals and (c) people already living in the UK.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Until the Immigration Rules are amended next Spring, the current salary and Minimum Income Requirement thresholds, and policies relating to dependants, remain in place and at the current levels. Those already in the Skilled work route, and applications made before the rules change, will not be subject to the new £38,700 salary threshold when they change employment, extend, or settle.

Full details of transitional provisions will be set out in due course when further policy details will be announced.


Written Question
Passports
Monday 20th March 2023

Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of passport applications that will need to be submitted between 15 March 2023 and the end of the year; how many applications there were in the same period last year; and whether she plans to amend staffing arrangements to meet the service delivery targets in place.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

With approximately 5 million people having delayed their passport application due to the restrictions upon international travel caused by COVID-19, the elevated demand for passports will continue throughout 2023.

HM Passport Office has processed more than two million applications across January and February, with over 99.5% of standard UK applications being processed within ten weeks and 95.5% being processed within three weeks.

Given the exceptional cause of this demand, the exact volumes and profile of when this will arrive is less predictable than in a normal year. The current expectations are that demand will be within 6.1 million and 7.1 million between the weeks ending 19 March 2023 to 31 December 2023. Between 15 March 2022 and 31 December 2022, HM Passport Office received 6,484,414 passport applications.


Written Question
Members: Correspondence
Monday 20th March 2023

Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what process her Department follows when an enquiry received through the HM Passport Office line for hon. Members is passed to the escalation team.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

When a passport-related enquiry is received via the MP Hotline to escalate an application, where possible, HM Passport Office will prioritise the case in line with its policies.

The customer’s details will be added to an escalations log, pending the receipt of the evidence required. Once received, the information is urgently passed onto the team that specialise in these cases to liaise directly with the customer if necessary and issue the passport once all checks have been satisfactorily completed.


Written Question
Police: Cameras
Tuesday 30th November 2021

Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many permanent speed cameras there are in each Police Authority Area; and how many speed cameras there are per each mile of adopted road in each Police Authority Area.

Answered by Kit Malthouse

The Home Office does not collect data on the number or location of speed cameras.


Written Question
Home Office: Local Government Finance
Monday 25th October 2021

Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many funds are allocated to local authorities by her Department through a process of competitive bidding; and if she will publish the names of those funds.

Answered by Kevin Foster

Four (4) funds have been allocated to local authorities through a process of competitive bidding in 2021.

Details have been published in the public domain for 3 of these funds

  • Safer Street Fund (Round 2)

Millions more funding for projects to make our streets safer - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

  • Safer Street Fund (Round 3)

Police and local authorities given extra £23.5 million for safer streets  - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

  • Trusted Relationships Fund

Trusted Relationships Fund: local areas and project descriptions - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Details of the 4th fund (Child National Referral Mechanism pilot) have not yet been published but willbe published by the Cabinet Office, as part of their annual Grants data publication (which can be found here)


Written Question
Immigration: EU Nationals
Thursday 9th September 2021

Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of EU Settlement Scheme Family Permits missed the 30 June 2021 deadline; and what proportion of those that missed that deadline were due to departmental delay.

Answered by Kevin Foster

There is no deadline for applications for an EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) family permit by eligible family members wishing to join an EEA or Swiss citizen with EUSS status who was resident in the UK by the end of the transition period. They can continue to apply for an EUSS family permit after 30 June 2021.


Written Question
Asylum
Wednesday 3rd February 2021

Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers have been transferred into each local authority area in England in the last two years.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area, which includes those in hotel and wider government facilities. These statistics can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets#asylum-support

Data is published on a quarterly basis, with the latest information published 26 November 2020. The next quarterly figures are due to be released in February 2021.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Disease Control
Monday 11th January 2021

Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what powers the police have to enforce covid-19 restrictions on people living in Tier 4 areas travelling to Tier 3 areas to shop during the covid-19 outbreak.

Answered by Kit Malthouse

People are required to continue to follow the rules under the current restrictions. They are in place to protect the public and save lives during this national pandemic This means that you must not leave or be outside of your home without reasonable excuse. We also recommend that people stay local where possible. Stay local means stay in the village, town, or part of the city where you live.

The police will be able to take action against those who break these rules, including issuing a fixed penalty notice of £200 for the first offence.

People aged 18 or over can be issued with a fixed penalty notice:

  • £200 for the first offence, lowered to £100 if paid within 14 days
  • £400 for the second offence, then doubling for each further offence up to a maximum of £6,400

The Home Office continues to work closely with the police and operational partners to ensure they have the powers, resources and guidance they need.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Protective Clothing
Monday 11th January 2021

Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what powers the police have to enforce the wearing of face coverings in shops during the covid-19 outbreak; and whether the police may require people to produce documentation to prove a medical exemption from the requirements to wear face coverings.

Answered by Kit Malthouse

The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings in a Relevant Place) (England) Regulations 2020, as amended, requires members of the public to wear a face covering in relevant indoor public settings unless an exemption applies, or the individual has a reasonable excuse.

The police have the power to enforce the requirement to wear a face covering including directing the individual to wear a face covering, directing the individual to leave the relevant place, and issuing a fixed penalty notice of £200 (reducing to £100 if paid within 14 days) doubling upon each repeat offence up to a maximum of £6,400.

Police officers receive guidance on the law and that they should use their discretion at all times. As they have done throughout the pandemic, the police apply a four-step escalation method - engaging, explaining and encouraging compliance before moving to take enforcement action.


Written Question
Migrant Workers: Coronavirus
Wednesday 7th October 2020

Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what additional support the Government will provide to people with No Recourse to Public Funds who lose their jobs during the covid-19 outbreak.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government remains committed to protecting vulnerable people and has acted decisively to ensure that we support everyone through this pandemic. We have introduced a range of measures to ensure people can stay safe and many of these are available for those with a No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition.

For those whose jobs are impacted but have retained employment status, the assistance provided under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (which remains in place until 31st October) and the Self-employed Income Support Scheme are not classed as public funds and are available to all those who are legally working or self-employed respectively, including those with NRPF status and those on zero-hour contracts. Statutory sick pay and some other work-related benefits, which are also not classed as public funds and so are also available to all.

If an individual with NRPF has been working in the UK and lost their employment, if sufficient national insurance contributions have been made, they may be entitled to claim contributory Employment and Support Allowance.

We have also temporarily extended the eligibility criteria for free school meals to support some families with NRPF, in recognition of the difficulties they may be facing during these unique circumstances. More information, including eligibility details can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance. For families facing hardship, further government support is available which can be found on GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support.

Individuals whose lawful basis of stay in the UK is based on their family life or human rights can apply to have the NRPF condition lifted by making a ‘change of conditions’ application if they are destitute or at risk of destitution, if the welfare of their child is at risk due to their low income, or where there are other exceptional financial circumstances.

Local authorities may also provide basic safety net support, regardless of immigration status, if it is established that there is a genuine care need that does not arise solely from destitution, for example, where there are community care needs, migrants with serious health problems or family cases where the wellbeing of a child is in question.

The Government has published guidance and support for migrants affected by Covid-19 on GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-get-support-if-youre-a-migrant-living-in-the-uk.