Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to introduce further pathways under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
We are determined to honour our commitment to those who supported us in Afghanistan and who stood up for freedom and democracy, placing their own lives at risk.
As of September 2024, we have brought around 33,400 individuals from Afghanistan - or a third country - to safety in the UK. This includes British Nationals and their families, Afghans who loyally served the UK and others identified as particularly at-risk, such as campaigners for women’s rights, human rights defenders, Chevening scholars, journalists, judges and members of the LGBT+ community.
Afghan Operational data is viewable at: Afghan Resettlement Programme: operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Our priority right now is the relocation of individuals accepted for resettlement through our established schemes, alongside fixing the gaps in our existing routes. That is why this government has already implemented a specific route under the ACRS to reunite Afghan families unintentionally separated during Operation Pitting. The window for referrals was open from 30 July and closed on 30 October. We have already begun to see arrivals and families be reunited.
Further information is viewable at: Afghan citizens resettlement scheme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people who arrived in the UK by small boats since 5 July 2024 are (a) male and (b) female.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes quarterly statistics on detected irregular arrivals to the UK in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Quarterly data on detected irregular arrivals by sex and method of entry, including small boat arrivals, is published in table Irr_D01 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed datasets’. The latest data is up to the end of September 2024, with data up to December 2024 to be published on 27 February 2025.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has issued on the circumstances in which registered sex offenders can apply to change their name.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Registered sex offenders are required to notify their personal details to the police as an automatic consequence to a conviction or caution for a Schedule 3 offence under the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
They must provide a record of (among other things) their name, address, date of birth, and national insurance number. They must do this annually or whenever their details change. Registered sex offenders must notify the police within three days of their using a new name. This includes names used online. The Home Secretary publishes guidance on Part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act, which is the legislative framework for the police’s management of registered sex offenders: Guidance on part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (accessible version) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
As part of the King's Speech, the Government has committed to placing restrictions on registered sex offender's ability to change their names.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many hotels are being used for the provision of accommodation for asylum seekers in Northern Ireland; and if she will make an estimate of the number of hotels that will be required by 31 December 2025.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has a statutory obligation to provide destitute asylum seekers with accommodation and subsistence support whilst their application for asylum is being considered.
The Home Office does not publish data on the number of hotels in use. However, data published quarterly on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent statistics release. The data can also be broken down by local authority: Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
The Home Office keeps its accommodation estate under constant review.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of her Department's agreements with Northern Ireland Government departments in place of the strategic migration partnership.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Home Office continues to engage with Northern Ireland Government departments to progress agreements to ensure continued delivery for service users in Northern Ireland. Regular strategic and operational engagement between all parties ensures effective implementation of government policy on asylum and resettlement.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the provisions of the British Nationality (Irish Citizens) Act 2024 will come into force.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The British Nationality (Irish Citizens) Act 2024 will come into force on a date that is set out in future regulations made by the Secretary of State, as allowed for by Clause 2(3) of the Act. This will be when the Home Office is able to make operational changes to implement the new route. Work on this is underway.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign nationals released from prison in 2023 and deported have subsequently returned to the UK.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested on the number of returning foreign national offenders is not available from published statistics.
A deportation order requires a foreign national offender to leave the UK and prohibits them from entering the UK while it remains in force. Anyone discovered at the border attempting to do so will be automatically denied entry or detained. Entering in breach of a deportation order is a criminal offence under section 24(1)(a) of the 1971 Act, so if an individual who was previously deported is found again in the UK, other than at the border, they will again be liable to be detained and returned to prison.
Section 40 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 increased the statutory maximum sentence for breach of a deportation order from 6 months to 5 years.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to publish a consultation on the potential merits of introducing a knife amnesty.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
We have no plans to consult on a general knife amnesty.
The Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Amendment, Surrender and Compensation) Order 2024 came in to force on 24 September 2024 and it is now unlawful to sell, supply, manufacture or possess zombie-style knives or zombie-style machetes. Prior to the legislation coming in to force we ran a surrender and compensation scheme between 26 August 2024 and 23 September 2024 to allow owners to surrender these items safely at designated police stations.
We will also introduce a ban on Ninja swords as soon as possible. We will be launching a consultation about this shortly and plan to introduce the legislation after the conclusion of that consultation when Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to continue the Defending Democracy Taskforce.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Defending Democracy Taskforce coordinates a whole of government response to threats of foreign interference in our democracy.
The Taskforce was established in 2022 and continue its work to safeguard our democracy and strengthen its resilience to the threats we face.
The Taskforce’s latest meeting was on the 25 July, when it considered issues relating to the recent General Election and the work going on across government to ensure that anyone who wishes to participate in our democracy can do so without fear of intimidation or abuse.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many officers from Police Scotland were deployed in Northern Ireland to help tackle disorder in August 2024.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Policing is a devolved matter, information may be held by the Scotland Office.