Asked by: Fiona Mactaggart (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she expects to publish the results of her Department's assessment of exit checks data; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Karen Bradley
I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer I gave the Hon Member for Morley and Outwood (Andrea Jenkyns) on 17 December 2015 to Question UIN: 19792.
Asked by: Fiona Mactaggart (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support unaccompanied trafficked and asylum seeking children; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The Home Office takes its responsibility for the welfare of children very seriously and recognises the additional vulnerability of unaccompanied children. The best interests of the child are a primary consideration in every decision taken in respect of children and we work closely with local authorities, children’s services and other agencies to ensure unaccompanied trafficked and asylum seeking children receive appropriate support and care.
Immigration staff are trained to identify potential victims of trafficking and to refer them to the National Referral Mechanism - a multi-agency victim identification and support process for responsible agencies to co-operate, share information and facilitate access to support. The Home Office also has dedicated asylum decision makers for children’s cases who receive additional training on specific child related issues.
Asked by: Fiona Mactaggart (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the recommendations of James Ewins' review of the overseas domestic workers visa.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The Government is considering carefully James Ewins’ recommendations and will announce its response in due course
Asked by: Fiona Mactaggart (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she last met the Home Secretary to discuss support for unaccompanied asylum seeking children and trafficked children; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Edward Timpson
The Government attaches high priority to ensuring that unaccompanied asylum seeking children and trafficked children who arrive in the UK are safe and well cared for. Responsibility for this rests with local authorities.
On 15 December 2015, the Minister for Immigration and Ico-hosted a round table with key local authority representatives to discuss how this responsibility can be shared more evenly between local authorities, in order to relieve pressure on children’s services in those areas with a disproportionately high number. We believe that sharing out this responsibility will benefit both the children involved and other children already in the care of those authorities. Ensuring that unaccompanied asylum seeking children are safe and well supported will remain of paramount importance for any new arrangements arising out of these discussions.
Asked by: Fiona Mactaggart (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons she selected St Mary's University, Twickenham, to host a specialist international centre for research into modern slavery and human trafficking; and whether any other institution was considered for this role.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The Government welcomes research into modern slavery, including the work that St Mary’s University is undertaking on behalf of the Santa Marta Group. The Home Office has no record that either Ministers or its officials played any part in the selection process.
Asked by: Fiona Mactaggart (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made on the evaluation of the Child Trafficking Advocates Trial.
Answered by Karen Bradley
Section 48(7) of the Modern Slavery Act requires the Government to lay before Parliament a report setting out the steps it proposes to take in relation to independent child trafficking advocates within nine months of Royal Assent of the Modern Slavery Act. The Government will publish this report and the independent evaluation, by the final day that Parliament sits this year.
Asked by: Fiona Mactaggart (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to publish her Department's report on tied visas for domestic servants.
Answered by James Brokenshire
James Ewins’s report on visas for overseas domestic workers has been submitted to the Home Office and will be published shortly.
Asked by: Fiona Mactaggart (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Prime Minister's press release, PM's Extremism Taskforce: tackling extremism in universities and colleges top of the agenda, dated 17 September 2015, what evidence was used to identify the six hate preachers named in that press release; and if she will publish the evidence which demonstrates that Dr Salman Butt had expressed views at a university contrary to British values.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The Home Office has information on 70 events held on university campuses in 2014 involving speakers who are considered by the Home Office to have previously expressed views contrary to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. Dr Salman Butt is the chief editor of Islam21c, a publication that hosts material contrary to British values, and has himself expressed views of concern in this publication and on social media, appearing to compare homosexuality to paedophilia as a sin and supporting FGM. He has spoken alongside CAGE and used social media to support CAGE’s position on Mohammed Emwazi (‘Jihadi John’), which has been to try to justify his resort to violence.
Asked by: Fiona Mactaggart (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people who have died within a week of being notified of a benefit sanction in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Priti Patel
The information requested is not collected.
Asked by: Fiona Mactaggart (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will conduct a peer review into the death of Alan McCardle in Slough.
Answered by Priti Patel
The department is unable to comment on individual cases.