Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to help tackle transphobic hate crimes.
Answered by Laura Farris
Our absolute priority is to get more police onto our streets, cut crime, protect the public and bring more criminals to justice. We are supporting the police by providing them with the resources they need. Part of this necessitates police recruitment and training. We delivered our commitment to recruit an additional 20,000 officers by March 2023 and there are over 149,000 officers England and Wales, which is higher than the previous peak in March 2010 before the Police Uplift Programme.
The Government continues to fund True Vision, an online hate crime reporting portal designed so that victims of all forms of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report. We also fund the National Online Hate Crime Hub, a central capability designed to provide expert advice to support individual local police forces in dealing with online hate crime.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing British National (Overseas) passport holders to use e-gates at the UK border.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The Government regularly reviews eGate eligibility for all groups, including British Nationals (Overseas). We have set out an ambitious vision for the future border in the New Plan for Immigration and remain committed to increasing the use of automation amongst those currently eligible and exploring options to allow more cohorts to use eGates.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing British National (Overseas) passport holders to undertake voluntary work as (a) sportspersons and (b) sports coaches.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The restriction on working as a professional sportsperson applies to those holding permission on certain visa routes, including the British National (Overseas) visa. If an individual meets any of the indicators listed in the definition of a professional sportsperson at Paragraph 6 of the Immigration Rules, they are classified as such, and if the restriction on work as a professional sportsperson is present in their visa conditions, they would therefore be breaching the terms of their visa.
However, it is not this Government’s intention to restrict anyone coming to the UK and taking part in sport recreationally. ‘Amateur’ is defined in the Immigration Rules as:
““Amateur” means a person who engages in a sport or creative activity solely for personal enjoyment and who is not seeking to derive a living from the activity.”
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the documentation provided to British National Overseas passport holders to access mandatory provident fund monies.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The UK firmly opposes the discrimination that British National (Overseas) status holders are facing in applying for early withdrawal of their pension funds held by the Mandatory Provident Fund in Hong Kong. The documentary requirements for accessing the scheme are a matter for the Hong Kong authorities. We have urged them to facilitate the early drawdown of funds as is the case for other Hong Kong residents who move overseas permanently and will continue to do so.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department provides (a) training and (b) guidance to accommodation providers on how to assess suitability for room sharing between unrelated adults in addition to that which is required by the Asylum Accommodation and Support contracts.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The safety and wellbeing of asylum seekers in our care is of paramount importance to the Home Office. The Asylum Accommodation Support Contract (AASC) Statement of Requirements below gives a detailed breakdown of all of the services to be undertaken by our accommodation providers and to the standards we expect. This includes training requirements for provider staff, room sharing guidance and suitability requirements, and guidance on incidents of harassment. Full details of our polices: AASC_-_Schedule_2_-_Statement_of_Requirements.pdf (parliament.uk).
When considering room sharing facilities, we will ensure that rooms are an appropriate size for the number of occupants and the occupancy in each bedroom shall not exceed that specified in the appropriate space standard, as defined in relevant legislation and/or in local authority licensing requirements, as well as ensuring that we are adhering to UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) guidance where applicable. Room sharing with friends is encouraged and the Home Office encourage individuals to speak to their housing officer if they know someone that they would like to share a room with. Every effort will be made for room sharing with a friend or family member, if they are the same gender. All personal circumstances will be considered before deciding if room sharing is suitable.
The Home Office has published the Asylum Support Contracts Safeguarding Framework at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-support-contracts-safeguarding-framework. This framework sets out a joint, overarching approach, as well as the key controls and reporting mechanisms in place, across the AASC contracts, for safeguarding arrangements.
All asylum seekers have access to a 24/7 AIRE (Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility) service provided for the Home Office by Migrant Help where they can raise any concerns regarding accommodation or support services, and they can get information about how to obtain further support.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance his Department provides to asylum accommodation providers on how to respond to incidents of harassment in asylum accommodation.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The safety and wellbeing of asylum seekers in our care is of paramount importance to the Home Office. The Asylum Accommodation Support Contract (AASC) Statement of Requirements below gives a detailed breakdown of all of the services to be undertaken by our accommodation providers and to the standards we expect. This includes training requirements for provider staff, room sharing guidance and suitability requirements, and guidance on incidents of harassment. Full details of our polices: AASC_-_Schedule_2_-_Statement_of_Requirements.pdf (parliament.uk).
When considering room sharing facilities, we will ensure that rooms are an appropriate size for the number of occupants and the occupancy in each bedroom shall not exceed that specified in the appropriate space standard, as defined in relevant legislation and/or in local authority licensing requirements, as well as ensuring that we are adhering to UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) guidance where applicable. Room sharing with friends is encouraged and the Home Office encourage individuals to speak to their housing officer if they know someone that they would like to share a room with. Every effort will be made for room sharing with a friend or family member, if they are the same gender. All personal circumstances will be considered before deciding if room sharing is suitable.
The Home Office has published the Asylum Support Contracts Safeguarding Framework at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-support-contracts-safeguarding-framework. This framework sets out a joint, overarching approach, as well as the key controls and reporting mechanisms in place, across the AASC contracts, for safeguarding arrangements.
All asylum seekers have access to a 24/7 AIRE (Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility) service provided for the Home Office by Migrant Help where they can raise any concerns regarding accommodation or support services, and they can get information about how to obtain further support.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Official Statistics on Hate Crime, England and Wales, 2022 to 2023, published on 5 October 2023, what assessment she has made of the reasons for the increase in hate crime against transgender people; and what steps her Department plans to take to tackle hate crime against transgender people.
Answered by Sarah Dines
The Government is clear that all forms of hate crime - including homophobic, biphobic and transphobic hate crime - are completely unacceptable.
We have a robust legislative framework in place and expect the police fully to investigate these abhorrent offences and make sure those who commit them feel the full force of the law.
Whilst part of the increase in transgender hate crime may be due to a genuine rise, the biggest driver is likely to be general improvement in police recording and identification of a hate crime, along with increased victim willingness to come forward. This is positive and reflects the hard work that has gone in to ensuring that police can target their resources, understand the scale of the challenge and ensure that victims get the support they need.
Our absolute priority is to get more police into our streets, cut crime, protect the public and bring more criminals to justice. We are supporting police by providing them with the resources they need, including having recruited 20,000 additional police officers by March 2023. We also engage with relevant stakeholders when appropriate to do so.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her speech to the American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC on 26 September 2023, whether she plans to change the asylum application process for people applying on the basis of persecution due to a protected characteristic.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
To support decision-makers and our Courts we have clearly defined what persecution means in the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. This includes providing a non-exhaustive list of examples of the types of acts which may constitute persecution.
Under Paragraph 328 of the Immigration Rules, all asylum applications continue to be decided in accordance with the Refugee Convention.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle the rise in transphobic hate crime.
Answered by Sarah Dines
The Government takes all forms of hate crime seriously. We expect the police to investigate these hateful attacks and make sure the cowards who commit them feel the full force of the law.
We also welcome the apparent greater willingness to report hate crimes to the police and that the police are better at identifying them. That helps to explain the increase seen in hate crime.
Our absolute priority is to get more police into our streets, cut crime, protect the public and bring more criminals to justice. We are supporting police by providing them with the resources they need. This has included the recruitment of 20,000 extra police officers.
The Government has also worked with the police to fund True Vision, an online hate crime reporting portal, designed so that victims of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report. The Government also funds the National Online Hate Crime Hub, a central capability designed to support individual local police forces in dealing with online hate crime. The Hub provides expert advice to police forces to support them in investigating these offences.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many EU Settlement Scheme advice services funded by her Department will be continued in London beyond 31 March 2023.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
From the launch of the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) in March 2019 the Home Office has made available £29 million in grant funding to a nationwide network of now 60 civil society organisations. The network has supported more than 480,000 vulnerable individuals to apply to the EUSS.
The Home Office is currently considering options for future support in line with changing demand.
Alongside the grant-funded network, there is support for vulnerable individuals available through the Settlement Resolution Centre which provides telephone and email assistance to applicants, and We Are Digital which provides technical support for applicants in completing the online application process. There are also several hundred organisations registered with the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner which provide immigration advice, including for those applying to the EUSS.