Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance his Department has issued on the provision of culturally appropriate oral and written professional translation when communicating with (a) applicants for asylum, (b) people in immigration detention, (c) people appealing application decisions and (d) people identified for deportation to Rwanda.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The Home Office aims to provide interpreter and translation services for refugees and asylum seekers at public expense whenever and wherever necessary. Interpreters are engaged by the Home Office to act on its behalf. They are not Home Office employees and undertake freelance work commissioned by the Home Office. In some circumstances interpreting services are provided by commercial partners.
Interpreters/translators engaged are required to operate to a high standard on a range of protection-based and human rights topics including (though not limited to) religious conversion, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), sexuality and gender-based claims, all types and forms of persecution, medical (physical and mental health) and political activity.
The Home Office also works with other commercial providers and public sector bodies which provide interpreters and linguists to ensure the best sector-wide standards are applied.
Guidance on the use of interpretation and translation services, Detention Services Order ‘Interpretation Services and use of Translation Devices’, was published in July 2022. This guidance sets out the provisions, including interpretation services and translation devices, available for individuals held in immigration detention and the circumstances in which these should be used.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what culturally appropriate oral and written professional translation services are provided by his Department when communicating with (a) applicants for asylum, (b) people in immigration detention, (c) people appealing application decisions and (d) people identified for deportation to Rwanda.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The Home Office aims to provide interpreter and translation services for refugees and asylum seekers at public expense whenever and wherever necessary. Interpreters are engaged by the Home Office to act on its behalf. They are not Home Office employees and undertake freelance work commissioned by the Home Office. In some circumstances interpreting services are provided by commercial partners.
Interpreters/translators engaged are required to operate to a high standard on a range of protection-based and human rights topics including (though not limited to) religious conversion, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), sexuality and gender-based claims, all types and forms of persecution, medical (physical and mental health) and political activity.
The Home Office also works with other commercial providers and public sector bodies which provide interpreters and linguists to ensure the best sector-wide standards are applied.
Guidance on the use of interpretation and translation services, Detention Services Order ‘Interpretation Services and use of Translation Devices’, was published in July 2022. This guidance sets out the provisions, including interpretation services and translation devices, available for individuals held in immigration detention and the circumstances in which these should be used.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time taken was for the conclusion of an application for a voluntary return through the Voluntary Returns Service in (a) Wales and (b) the UK, in the most recent period for which data is available.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
Information on processing times for voluntary return applications is not held centrally and is not currently captured in a publishable form.
Our priority is to consider applications as efficiently and fairly as possible. There may, however, be circumstances which delay the progression of a case, for example waiting for evidence that is of importance in deciding an application, or a need to obtain documentation to enable travel. In these circumstances, regular reviews are undertaken at appropriate intervals, dependant on the reason why the application cannot be progressed.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the (a) financial and (b) other impacts of delays in assessing voluntary return applications by the Voluntary Returns Service on applicants remaining in the UK.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
Information on processing times for voluntary return applications is not held centrally and is not currently captured in a publishable form.
Our priority is to consider applications as efficiently and fairly as possible. There may, however, be circumstances which delay the progression of a case, for example waiting for evidence that is of importance in deciding an application, or a need to obtain documentation to enable travel. In these circumstances, regular reviews are undertaken at appropriate intervals, dependant on the reason why the application cannot be progressed.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to help tackle (a) knife crime by and (b) the online sale of bladed weapons to people under the age of 18 in Wales.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Since 2019, the Home Office has provided over £5 million of funding for a Violence Reduction Unit in Wales (known as the Wales Violence Prevention Unit (VPU)) which is providing a multi-agency, preventative response designed to tackle the drivers of serious violence and knife crime. Over the same period, we have invested c.£3.5 million (including c.£535k in 2023/24) in ‘hotspot policing’ to boost the policing response to serious violence in South Wales. In 24/25, we are providing c.£4.4 million of funding to all force areas in Wales under the Hotspot Response fund to deliver high-visibility patrols and problem-solving tactics in the streets and neighbourhoods worst affected by serious violence and Anti Social Behaviour.
The Wales VPU is tasked with investing in evidence-based approaches designed to steer vulnerable young people away from involvement in violence. As part of this approach, the VPU is funding local interventions including A&E Navigators, delivering advice, support and guidance to patients of any age who have experienced violence with injury, with the aim of engaging with those injured whilst they are in hospital to help break the cycle of violence at the point of crisis. The VPU is also funding youth workers to deliver sessions to young people within both education and community settings covering issues such as knife crime. Additionally, just under £1m was awarded in 2023/24 to support delivery of the Serious Violence Duty across Wales.
We have also introduced new legislation which, subject to parliamentary approval, will ban zombie-style knives and machetes from 24 September 2024. Through the Criminal Justice Bill 2023, we are providing more powers for police to seize knives held in private that they believe will be used for unlawful violence, increasing the maximum penalty for the offences of selling prohibited weapons and selling knives to under 18s and creating a new offence of possessing an article with blade or point or an offensive weapon with intent to commit unlawful violence.
It is an offence to sell bladed articles to people under the age of 18 and with measures in the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 we strengthened the requirements for age verification, and made it an offence to send bladed articles to residential addresses after they are bought online, unless the seller has arrangements in place with the delivery company to ensure that the product would not be delivered into the hands of a person under 18. This legislation is enforced by Trading Standards and the police. The Home Office does not hold enforcement data in relation to breaches of this legislation.
The Online Safety Act 2023 has finished its parliamentary passage and received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023. The Government's intention is to have the regime operational as soon as possible.
Ofcom published the first draft codes of practice on illegal content for consultation on 9 November 2023. The Government expects these to be finalised in late 2024. These codes of practice will set out the steps companies can take to fulfil the duties for illegal content. In scope services will either need to follow these codes, or show their approach is equally effective. Tech companies will need to remove and limit the spread of illegal content. This means less illegal content online and when it does appear it will be removed quicker.
Schedule 7 of the Act sets out a series of priority offences which includes the sale of weapons. Companies will need to take particularly robust action to prevent the proliferation of this content online and ensure that their services are not used for offending. This means companies will need to proactively mitigate the risk that their services are used for illegal activity or to share this illegal content, to design their services to mitigate the risk of this occurring and to remove any content that does appear as soon as they are made aware of it.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made a recent assessment of the effectiveness of the enforcement of regulations on the sale of bladed items (a) to and (b) by persons under the age of 18.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Since 2019, the Home Office has provided over £5 million of funding for a Violence Reduction Unit in Wales (known as the Wales Violence Prevention Unit (VPU)) which is providing a multi-agency, preventative response designed to tackle the drivers of serious violence and knife crime. Over the same period, we have invested c.£3.5 million (including c.£535k in 2023/24) in ‘hotspot policing’ to boost the policing response to serious violence in South Wales. In 24/25, we are providing c.£4.4 million of funding to all force areas in Wales under the Hotspot Response fund to deliver high-visibility patrols and problem-solving tactics in the streets and neighbourhoods worst affected by serious violence and Anti Social Behaviour.
The Wales VPU is tasked with investing in evidence-based approaches designed to steer vulnerable young people away from involvement in violence. As part of this approach, the VPU is funding local interventions including A&E Navigators, delivering advice, support and guidance to patients of any age who have experienced violence with injury, with the aim of engaging with those injured whilst they are in hospital to help break the cycle of violence at the point of crisis. The VPU is also funding youth workers to deliver sessions to young people within both education and community settings covering issues such as knife crime. Additionally, just under £1m was awarded in 2023/24 to support delivery of the Serious Violence Duty across Wales.
We have also introduced new legislation which, subject to parliamentary approval, will ban zombie-style knives and machetes from 24 September 2024. Through the Criminal Justice Bill 2023, we are providing more powers for police to seize knives held in private that they believe will be used for unlawful violence, increasing the maximum penalty for the offences of selling prohibited weapons and selling knives to under 18s and creating a new offence of possessing an article with blade or point or an offensive weapon with intent to commit unlawful violence.
It is an offence to sell bladed articles to people under the age of 18 and with measures in the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 we strengthened the requirements for age verification, and made it an offence to send bladed articles to residential addresses after they are bought online, unless the seller has arrangements in place with the delivery company to ensure that the product would not be delivered into the hands of a person under 18. This legislation is enforced by Trading Standards and the police. The Home Office does not hold enforcement data in relation to breaches of this legislation.
The Online Safety Act 2023 has finished its parliamentary passage and received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023. The Government's intention is to have the regime operational as soon as possible.
Ofcom published the first draft codes of practice on illegal content for consultation on 9 November 2023. The Government expects these to be finalised in late 2024. These codes of practice will set out the steps companies can take to fulfil the duties for illegal content. In scope services will either need to follow these codes, or show their approach is equally effective. Tech companies will need to remove and limit the spread of illegal content. This means less illegal content online and when it does appear it will be removed quicker.
Schedule 7 of the Act sets out a series of priority offences which includes the sale of weapons. Companies will need to take particularly robust action to prevent the proliferation of this content online and ensure that their services are not used for offending. This means companies will need to proactively mitigate the risk that their services are used for illegal activity or to share this illegal content, to design their services to mitigate the risk of this occurring and to remove any content that does appear as soon as they are made aware of it.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of raising the earning threshold for family visas on people who intend to marry a foreign partner (a) before and (b) after Spring 2024 whose salary does not meet this threshold.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Analytical work has been undertaken across Government to support decision making in this process, and an Impact Assessment will be developed in due course.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of raising the earnings threshold for family visas to on the human rights of (a) UK citizens and (b) foreign partners of UK citizens.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The family Immigration Rules contain a provision for exceptional circumstances, including a breach of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, where there would be unjustifiably harsh consequences for the applicant, their partner, a relevant child, or another family member, if their application were to be refused.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an estimate of trends in the number of applications for spouse and family visas in the period before the implementation of the proposed higher earnings threshold.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Analytical work has been undertaken across Government to support decision making in this process, and an Impact Assessment will be developed in due course.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to introduce a quota to determine the number of adult asylum seekers placed in each (a) local authority area and (b) parliamentary constituency.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
From 13 April 2022, all local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales are considered a dispersal area and will need to take part in asylum dispersal. This is to ensure a fair and equitable accommodation spread of asylum seekers across the UK.
We have asked local authorities across the United Kingdom to provide the Home Office with plans for dispersal within their nation or region and have agreed targets, based on those plans, for every local authority and region in the UK to deliver by the end of 2023.
As of March 31st 2023, there are no supported asylum seekers being accommodated in Arfon, Wales.
The latest Home Office figures holds show that Wales holds 2.6% of supported asylum seekers when Wales makes up 5.2% of the UK’s population. The current number of asylum seekers being accommodated in Wales is lower than it was in June 2020, despite the significant increase in asylum claims. Currently, Wales is considerably off track meeting their dispersal target.
The Standard Operating Procedure sets out that when a site is identified for use on the Asylum Support Contracts, the Deputy Director of Asylum Support will initially notify the Chief Executive of the relevant local authority and the Member of Parliament.
If you would like to put forward specific proposals, please do contact the Home Office at: rasiengagementhubregionalconsultation@homeoffice.gov.uk(opens in a new tab) and officials will happily discuss this in greater detail with you.