Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill on (a) small voluntary groups and (b) small venues.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is extremely mindful of the many community and voluntary-run premises across the UK. It has been conscious of the need to ensure the Terrorism (Protection of Premises Bill) strikes the right balance between public protection and avoiding undue burdens on premises and events. That is why important changes were made to the Bill since it was published in draft, particularly to the standard tier which comprises the smaller premises, many of which may be utilised by small voluntary groups.
We have doubled the qualifying threshold at which premises will come within scope of the Bill (at the standard tier) to where it is reasonable to expect that 200 people may be present at the same time. This has removed the smallest premises from scope, and made the requirements less prescriptive. The focus is on having procedures that are intended to be simple and low cost. For example, we have removed the requirement for a specific, prescribed form of training in recognition that a one-size-fits-all approach is not appropriate. Additionally, the Bill will not require premises in the standard tier to purchase or install any additional physical measures.
Dedicated guidance and support will be provided for those in scope of the Bill, to ensure that they have the required information on what to do and how best to do it. The guidance will be easy to follow, needing no particular expertise.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing funding schemes to support small voluntary groups with the costs of compliance with the measures in the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has made important changes to the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill since it was published in draft, particularly to the standard tier, to ensure that the requirements strike a better balance between protecting the public and avoiding undue burden on premises.
The requirements for smaller premises are focused on simple, low-cost activities to enact policies and procedures. The smaller premises on the standard tier will be required to have in place appropriate and reasonably practicable public protection procedures to reduce the risk of physical harm in the event of an attack. Some actions could be as simple as locking doors, closing shutters and identifying a safe route to cover.
Direct financial support for mitigating measures is not proposed. However, the Government will consider how and where it can otherwise support those in scope, for example through developing supporting tools, guidance and templates where appropriate, and considering how training needs can be supported. The guidance and support is being designed so that it is self-explanatory and easy to follow.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to (a) review and (b) raise the classification of pregabalin under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Pregabalin is currently controlled under Class C of the Misuse of Dugs Act 1971. The Government takes expert advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), which is the independent advisory body on drugs, on the classification of substances under the 1971 Act and scheduling under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001.
Controlled drugs are placed in the appropriate class and schedule following consideration of advice from the ACMD on the potential harms of misuse, and an assessment of their medicinal or therapeutic usefulness and the need for legitimate access. The ACMD announced in February this year that they are looking to launch an updated harms assessment for gabapentinoids, which includes pregabalin, to review the position of these drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The Government will consider the findings of the ACMD’s review once published.
The ACMD’s work programme is available on the Gov.UK website: ACMD work programme 2024 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is her policy to create a standalone criminal offence for drink spiking; and what steps she is taking to help tackle drink spiking.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Spiking is an abhorrent crime and illegal in any form, whether through vape, food, drink or needle. The Government’s manifesto and the King’s Speech committed to strengthening spiking legislation to help the police better respond to this crime. We are currently working across Government to consider the best way to achieve that.
In addition, the Home Office is currently supporting a range of work to tackle spiking, including specific training for people working in the night-time economy, testing the efficacy of commercial drug test kits and supporting police intensification weeks to increase understanding and awareness of this crime.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing (a) elected representatives from Ireland and (b) other Irish passport holders to verify UK passport applications using the HM Passport Office online verification system.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
As part of the criteria for a person to act as a referee to a passport application, His Majesty’s Passport Office requires that the referee must hold a passport that it can validate to confirm that person’s identity. In addition to British passport holders, Irish passport holders can act as a passport referee.
For a British passport holder, an automated check is conducted through the interface with HM Passport Office systems. However, this system interface is not in place for the external checks against the Irish passport database, and these checks can currently only be conducted through the manual input of information. However, a range of technical options are being explored to enable Irish passport holders to verify UK passport applications using the online verification system in due course.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department (a) received and (b) granted requests to provide communications data on (i) lawyers, (ii) journalists and (iii) Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly in each of the last five years.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Investigatory Powers Commissioner's Office is the independent oversight body responsible for communications data authorisations.The most recent Information on the authorisation of investigatory powers, including the use of powers and number of authorisations obtained in relation to sensitive professions, is available in the Investigatory Powers Commissioner's Office Annual Report 2022 Annual Report of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner 2022 (ipco-wpmedia-prod-s3.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com)
The use of covert investigatory powers is subject to strong safeguards and robust independent oversight by the Investigatory Powers Commissioner, and authorisations must be consistent with the law. The Investigatory Powers Act 2016 outlines specific additional protections in respect of journalistic material and sources, as well as items subject to legal privilege.
The government is unable to confirm nor deny the existence of any specific authorisations granted under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA) or the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA).
Prior to March 2024 the Office for Communications Data Authorisations, headed by the Investigatory Power’s Commissioner, considered requests for communications data from law enforcement and public authorities. However, since March 2024, the Office for Communications Data Authorisations has become part of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the evidential basis is for increasing the minimum income requirement (MIR) to £38,700 for certain family and work visas; if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of increasing the MIR on those affected in (a) Derry City and Strabane and (b) other regions where average gross annual earnings are below the national average; and if he will ensure that the Government's planned impact assessment of increasing the MIR includes an equality impact assessment.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
Analytical work has been undertaken across Government to support decision making in this process. A fact sheet and an initial assessment on the impact of the changes on immigration can be found on GOV.UK at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/fact-sheet-on-net-migration-measures-further-detail
and
A full Regulatory Impact Assessment on these changes has been developed and the Government will publish this alongside an Equality Impact Assessment on this change, both in due course.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his timetable is for resolving technical faults relating to the issuing of Biometric Residence Permit cards.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
The incidences of technical issues preventing Biometric Resident Permit (BRP) card production are very low. Where issues are encountered, operational case working teams and IT Support endeavour to resolve the issue swiftly without any adverse impacts for the applicant.
For the very small proportion of cases that could not be resolved immediately, the Employer Checking Service (ECS) and Landlord Checking Service (LCS) are available to provide support to applicants to verify their immigration status and permission to work and rent properties in the UK.
Longer term, the Home Office is developing a border and immigration system which will be digital by default. The ambition is to phase out physical documents, such as BRP’s, before the end of 2024 as we move towards a system of online evidence of immigration status (eVisas).
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an estimate of the number of people living in Foyle constituency that have left Sudan due to conflict; and what steps he is taking to provide (a) safe migration routes and (b) asylum to people from Sudan.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
Asylum seekers, refugees and other migrants are free to move within the UK, and not all people seeking protection here are escaping conflict and it is not possible to make an accurate estimate.
The UK has a proud history of supporting refugees and providing protection to those in need. Since 2015, we have offered a place to over half a million individuals seeking safety in the UK.
The UK continues to welcome refugees through our existing resettlement schemes which include the global UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship and the Mandate Resettlement Scheme. While our safe and legal routes are some of the most generous anywhere, we cannot accommodate everyone who wants to come to the UK.
The UK has no plans to establish a designated resettlement scheme for Sudanese refugees. We will however continue to provide safe and legal routes to the UK for those that require it.
There is no provision within our Immigration Rules for someone to be allowed to travel to the UK to seek asylum or temporary refuge. Those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach which is the fastest route to safety.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plan to take steps to ensure the safety and well-being of refugees undertaking (a) channel crossings and (b) land journeys; and what steps she is taking to help refugees arriving in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
The UK has a proud history of providing sanctuary through our resettlement schemes, with around half a million having used our global and country-specific routes since 2015.
Our safe and legal routes for recognised refugees mean that they are resettled directly from conflict zones as opposed to safe countries like France, avoiding the need to take dangerous journeys. The level of support they are provided with depends on the resettlement route they arrive on, rather than the location into which they are resettled.