Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) asylum seekers and (b) refugees of which nationalities are housed at Catterick Garrison.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
There are no asylum seekers housed at Catterick Garrison. The Government is using MOD Service Family Accommodation including at Catterick Garrison to provide settled accommodation for Afghans who are eligible for relocation to the UK under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy. We are continuing work on other uses for Catterick.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has visa arrangements in place to permit registered stem cell donors entry to the UK for the purpose of donating.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Visitor route allows individuals to come to the UK to donate an organ to an identified recipient in the UK with whom they have a genuine or close personal relationship. They can also come to the UK to be assessed as a potential organ donor for an identified recipient in the UK with whom they have a genuine or close personal relationship.
Visitors are not permitted to donate organs (or stem cells) to an anonymous donor, other than as part of a paired or pooled donation.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make it his policy to include (a) information on and (b) opt in forms for (i) organ, (ii) stem cell and (iii) blood donation with passport application forms.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
In September the Department of Health and Social Care and the Home Office jointly announced that, during the next year, adults applying to renew their passport online will be signposted to the NHS Organ Donor Register. We will continue to work with the NHS Blood and Transplant Service to look further at how the passport application process might help raise awareness of how to register an organ donation decision in due course.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visas were (a) granted and (b) denied for people visiting the UK for the purpose of donating stem cells in each year from 2010 to 2022.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office does not record the reasons for the visit visa in a reportable format and to obtain the information requested could not be done without disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to reduce abuse targeted at retail staff relating to shoplifting.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is clear that violent and abusive behaviour towards any public-facing worker is never acceptable. We take this issue very seriously and recognise the implications these incidents can have on businesses as well as the victims.
Police forces across England and Wales have recently committed to pursuing any available evidence where there is a reasonable chance it could lead to catching a perpetrator and solving a crime. For shoplifting and assaults in retail, this could include reviewing CCTV evidence and using the Police National Database for facial searches to identify suspects.
On 23 October, the National Police Chiefs Council launched their Retail Crime Action Plan; which includes a police commitment to prioritise attending the scene of retail crime instances where violence has been used; where an offender has been detained; or where evidence needs to be promptly secured and can only be done in person by police personnel.
The Government took a significant step and legislated to introduce a statutory aggravating factor for assault against any public facing worker via section 156 of the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. This ensures the public facing nature of a victim’s role will be considered an aggravating factor when it comes to sentencing for assault offences.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of allowing biometric residence permit holders to use e-gates at passport control.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
To be eligible for entry via an e-gate at present, a traveller must hold a machine-readable biometric passport. Biometric residence permits are not compatible.
However, the Government has an ambitious vision for the future UK border, in which most people crossing the border will experience an e-gate style arrival, using automation as their only point of contact. We continue to look at options for expanding the use of e-gates to cohorts of passenger not currently able to use them.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of existing legacy licences for testing exclusive-use cosmetics ingredients on animals on animal welfare.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The Government is engaging with the relevant companies to urgently determine a way forward on legacy licences.
All establishments licensed to breed or supply animals, or to carry out regulated procedures on animals under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in Great Britain are subject to the full requirements of the Act. This provides for a regulatory regimen of activities that protects animals in science including audits and inspections by the Animals in Science Regulation Unit to ensure compliance with the terms of their licences, the Code of Practice and with the Act.
Both announced and unannounced site visits are undertaken within a risk-based framework to assure compliance and inspect the welfare, health, and environment of animals at each establishment.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps the Government has taken to support asylum seekers in the UK who are (a) living in relative poverty, (b) affected by mental health issues and (c) homeless.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Government is under a legal obligation to provide support to all asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute.
The level of the weekly allowance is reviewed annually to ensure it meets the essential living needs of asylum seekers. From 21 December 2022, the government increased the main rate of asylum support that is provided under sections 4 and 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 to £45 per week on an interim basis. Asylum seekers also have access to free NHS care, which includes mental health services.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department have taken steps to resolve IT issues relating to applicants' biometrics being received onto the Home Office computer system; and whether her Department have identified other IT issues relating to immigration and nationality applications.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office does not have the information in a reportable format.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many IT issues were recorded by visa application processing teams in her Department in the last (a) six months, (b) 12 months and (c) five years; and how many visa applications were affected by these IT issues.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The information requested could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.