Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of processing times for visas under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
UKVI aims to assess all Ukraine Schemes visa applications as quickly as possible and straightforward applications are processed within a matter of days. It is right, however, that visas are only issued after all necessary checks have been completed which may take longer on some cases.
As of 24 February 2022, the UK Government has issued 219,723 visas under the Ukraine Schemes, of which over 150,000 visas have been issued under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to publish the results of its 2014 public consultation on the review of Section 24 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
Answered by Sarah Dines
The Government intends to bring forward proposals and engage with stakeholders this year on transparency of information and the protection of confidential information regarding the regulation of the use of animals in science. In doing so the Government intends to clarify Section 24 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, taking account of the previous consultation.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has had recent discussions with regulators on the adequacy of the rules on enforcement action set out in the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The Regulator’s published Compliance Policy is aligned with the requirements defined in the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
The policy explains how the Regulator identifies and investigates potential incidents of non-compliance and decides on appropriate and proportionate measures aimed to minimise the risk of recurrence. It can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/animal-testing-and-research-compliance-with-aspa
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of changing the wording of requests for previous passports during passport applications process to indicate clearly that the request is for all passports including those not from the UK.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Passport application guidance outlines the requirement for customers to send in all their latest passports. In the case of a dual national, this includes a passport issued by another country.
While His Majesty’s Passport Office considers this guidance to be clear, it will continue to keep this under review to ensure that it is meeting the needs of its customers.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the National Crime Agency have sought any prosecutions for looting from occupied areas of Ukraine.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The National Crime Agency’s response to Russian’s invasion of Ukraine is focused on investigating evasion to criminal sanctions and high-end money laundering, including by individuals in the UK who are linked to the Russian regime.
For reasons of operational security, the National Crime Agency is not able to provide further details publicly.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with the National Crime Agency on (a) the steps they are taking to ensure that (i) material goods, (ii) agricultural products and (iii) art, that is looted from Ukraine is clearly identified and (b) ensuring companies and individuals who are involved in the movement or purchase of items looted from Ukraine are prosecuted.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The National Crime Agency’s response to Russian’s invasion of Ukraine is focused on investigating evasion to criminal sanctions and high-end money laundering, including by individuals in the UK who are linked to the Russian regime.
For reasons of operational security, the National Crime Agency is not able to provide further details publicly.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the news story by his Department entitled Fee removed for No Time Limit applications, published on 6 April 2022, what recent steps his Department has taken to help support people who are unable to use online services to make a no time limit application.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Customers who are making an immigration application from inside the UK can get help filling in their online Home Office application. This service is available to customers who are making a No time Limit application and is known as ‘Assisted Digital’ support. The support service is free to use for customers who do not feel confident using a computer or mobile device, do not have internet access, or do not have access to a device like a laptop or smart phone.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing additional funding to the National Crime Agency to enforce sanctions in relation to the war in Ukraine.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Home Office welcomes the announcement on the Combatting Kleptocracy Cell in the National Crime Agency which will focus on corrupt elites laundering their assets within the UK, including through supporting work on criminal sanctions enforcement. The NCA has already surged additional officers to support existing efforts and the Home Office will support the unit to drive forwards what are inevitably complex and lengthy operations.
The Spending Review 2021 settlement and the Economic Crime Levy represent an overall package of circa £400 million to tackle economic crime over the next three years, including support for the NCA’s National Economic Crime Centre (NECC) and law enforcement.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending the length of time an English language test pass is valid for a visa application, in the context of passport application delays.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We do not have any current plans to extend the length of time for which a Secure English Language Test (SELT) result is valid for the purpose of a visa application. It is important that people show they have the level of English required to work, study and integrate in the UK. An accurate and reliable SELT process ensures that people coming to work and study have the skills they need to complete the activity they are coming to the UK to undertake. Applicants can rely on the test result for 2 years from the date of the test, and can choose when they take the test before making their visa application.
As part of our work to simplify the immigration rules, we have extended the ways an applicant can prove their English language ability other than providing a valid SELT certificate. They can now meet the language requirement by:
Applicants also now only have to prove their language ability once, and can rely on having met the requirement in a previous visa application for future applications.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answers of 28 June 2022 to Question 23755 on Central Africa: Armed Conflict and 26 July 2022 to Question 30051 on Asylum: Rwanda, and in the context of the need to deescalate ethnic hate speech and violence occurring in the central African region, what metrics her Department used to determine Rwanda as a safe country for (a) refugees as outlined by her Department's response to Question 30051 and (b) other refugees fleeing central Africa.
Answered by Simon Baynes
Rwanda has been recognised globally for their record in welcoming and integrating migrants and asylum seekers, and our own comprehensive assessment found it to be generally a safe and secure country.
The factors considered to form our assessment are outlined in our published ‘Review of asylum processing, Rwanda: assessment’ which is available on Gov.Uk.
Any decision to relocate a person to Rwanda will be made on a case-by-case basis taking into account their individual circumstances and relevant country information.