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Written Question
Charter for Families Bereaved through Public Tragedy
Thursday 8th February 2024

Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what public bodies have signed the Hillsborough Charter.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

As set out on 6 December 2023, in the Government's response to Bishop James Jones' independent report, many organisations have already signed the Hillsborough Charter, including the National Police Chiefs’ Council, College of Policing, Crown Prosecution Service, Fire Service, and Kensington and Chelsea Council.

This Government will encourage and work with other public bodies to adopt the Charter and commit to learn the lessons of the Hillsborough disaster, to ensure that the failings we saw in its aftermath are never repeated.


Written Question
Visas: Religious Persons
Wednesday 20th December 2023

Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data his Department holds on the average time taken by UK Visas and Immigration to respond to emails about applications for temporary work religious worker visas in each of the last 12 months.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Home Office does not publish data that would cover this request.


Written Question
Visas: Religious Persons
Wednesday 20th December 2023

Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time taken to process an application for a temporary work religious worker visa (a) overall and (b) under the priority service scheme was in each of the last three years.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Home Office does not publish data that would cover this request.


Written Question
Visas: Religious Persons
Wednesday 20th December 2023

Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data his Department holds on the number of people with a temporary work religious worker visa who overstayed their visa in each of the last three years.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Home Office does not publish data that would cover this request.


Written Question
Visas: Religious Persons
Wednesday 20th December 2023

Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff in his Department are involved in processing applications for temporary work religious worker visas as of 14 December 2023.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Home Office does not publish data that would cover this request.


Written Question
Visas: Religious Persons
Wednesday 20th December 2023

Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for a temporary work religious worker visa were not approved by his Department in each of the last five years.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Home Office does not publish data that would cover this request.


Written Question
Asylum: Rwanda
Friday 21st April 2023

Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has received legal advice on the categorisation as Official Development Assistance of funding for processing and integration costs under the UK-Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership; and how her Department plans to report those costs.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The funding for the Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda is separate from, and additional to, the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget.

Actual departmental spend will be reported as part of the annual Home Office Reports and Accounts in the usual way.


Written Question
Visas: Care Workers and Health Professions
Thursday 26th January 2023

Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of time taken to (a) process Health and Care Worker visas for people offered NHS roles and (b) extend Health and Care Worker visas for people currently working in the NHS; and if she will make a statement.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The Home Office does not routinely publish details of average processing times and they do not form part of any current transparency data. However, information on our immigration routes with service standards and whether they have been processed against these standards is available as part of our transparency data, at: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Health and Care visa extensions already benefit from a 15 working day service standard from the point of biometric submission, instead of the standard 8 weeks.


Written Question
Visas: Care Workers and Health Professions
Thursday 26th January 2023

Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on speeding up the processing of Health and Care Worker visas for those people roles in the NHS; and if she will make a statement.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The Home Office does not routinely publish details of average processing times and they do not form part of any current transparency data. However, information on our immigration routes with service standards and whether they have been processed against these standards is available as part of our transparency data, at: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Health and Care visa extensions already benefit from a 15 working day service standard from the point of biometric submission, instead of the standard 8 weeks.


Written Question
Visas: Care Workers and Health Professions
Thursday 26th January 2023

Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she will take to expedite Health and Care Worker visas for people with jobs secured in the NHS; and if she will make a statement.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The Home Office does not routinely publish details of average processing times and they do not form part of any current transparency data. However, information on our immigration routes with service standards and whether they have been processed against these standards is available as part of our transparency data, at: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Health and Care visa extensions already benefit from a 15 working day service standard from the point of biometric submission, instead of the standard 8 weeks.