Asked by: Imran Hussain (Independent - Bradford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a visa scheme to enable displaced Palestinians living in (a) Gaza, (b) Egypt and (c) other countries to be reunited with family members in the UK.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Government is determined to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and rapidly increase aid, ensuring humanitarian support is reaching people there.
The government is keeping existing visa pathways under review in response to events. Palestinian nationals who wish to come to the UK can do so via the existing range of visa routes available.
Our embassy staff are ready to provide support as appropriate. They continue to support British nationals and other eligible persons who have exited Gaza to access the necessary medical, consular and administrative support.
Any application for a UK visa will be assessed against the requirements of the Immigration Rules. Immediate family members of British citizens and those settled in the UK who wish to come and live in the UK can apply under one of the existing family visa routes.
There are also routes available for dependants of those who are in the UK on most work routes and certain postgraduate student routes.
Individuals with protection status or settlement on a protection route may
sponsor their partner or child (under 18), to join or stay with them in the UK,
providing they formed part of the pre-flight family unit before the sponsor fled
their country to seek protection.
Where a relevant application is made, consideration will be given to compelling compassionate factors that are raised.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Independent - Bradford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a legal pathway for Palestinian children in Gaza to travel to the UK to receive medical treatment.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Government is determined to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and rapidly increase aid, ensuring humanitarian support is reaching people there. We have been assisting British nationals and other eligible people to leave Gaza, liaising closely with the Israeli and Egyptian authorities.
There are provisions that allow Palestinians to come to the UK for Private Medical Treatment under the Immigration Rules. Where a relevant application is made consideration will be given to exceptional circumstances or where there are compelling or compassionate grounds. The government is keeping all existing visa pathways under review in response to events in Gaza.
Israel should engage with its partners to urgently establish sustained, safe and timely passage for patients who need medical or surgical interventions not available in Gaza.
The UK is supporting the provision of essential healthcare to civilians in Gaza, including support to UK-Med for operating their field hospitals. On 16 October, Minister Falconer announced £1m for WHO Egypt to help Egypt’s Ministry of Health support medically evacuated civilians from Gaza who are receiving care in Egypt.
It should be noted that the World Health Organisation (WHO) position is that people who are medically evacuated should stay as close to home as possible, so that they remain amongst those who are more likely to understand their language and culture, and so that their return home, when ready, is easier.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Independent - Bradford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the resources available to process family visa applications from British-Palestinians.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Government is assisting British nationals to leave Gaza. The FCDO is also providing consular assistance to those with British nationality, or dual nationality including British, who are in Gaza or who have left Gaza to a third country. Dual national British-Palestinians are not required to make a visa application as they have the right of abode in the UK.
Our embassy staff are ready to provide support as appropriate. They continue to support British nationals and other eligible persons who have exited Gaza to access the necessary medical, consular and administrative support.
Immediate family members of British nationals and those settled in the UK who wish to come and live in the UK can apply under one of the existing family visa routes.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Independent - Bradford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people received (a) less than £10,000, (b) £10,000-£20,000, (c) £20,000-£50,000, (d) £50,000-£100,000 and (e) more than £100,000 in each quarter since the Windrush Compensation scheme was launched.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
Information on the breakdown of full and final offers and payments made to Windrush Compensation Scheme claimants is published as part of the monthly Windrush Schemes Factsheet. The latest set of data on the schemes, which covers the period to the end of March 2024, is available here: Windrush Compensation Schemes Factsheet.
The Windrush Compensation Scheme does not publish compensation award data in the payment or date range requested.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Independent - Bradford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghan refugees housed in interim hotel accommodation were aged (a) zero to three, (b) three to five, (c) five to ten, (d) 10 to 15 and (e) 15 to 18 years old as of 26 December 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The UK made an ambitious and generous commitment to help resettle Afghans fleeing persecution and those who served in the UK. Since June 2021, we have brought 24,500 people to safety to the UK.
1,674 people, around half of whom are children, were living in interim accommodation (i.e., hotels/serviced accommodation) at the end of September 2023.
For information on individuals within interim accommodation, including nationality, age, and sex breakdowns, see table Asy_D02 of the asylum and resettlement detailed datasets: Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
For data on those in accommodation by location, see the regional and local authority immigration groups data tables.
We are unable to provide a running commentary on interim accommodation and settled accommodation occupation. The next release of Afghan Operational Data is due for release around 22 February 2024.
Local authorities receive integration tariff funding of £20,520 per person, over three years, for each Afghan family they resettle and provide full integration support for this duration. They have the flexibility to use this funding to contribute towards renting accommodation, including deposit, letting fees and necessary furnishings.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Independent - Bradford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghan refugees were housed in interim hotel accommodation as of (a) 5 December 2023, (b) 12 December 2023, (c) 19 December 2023, (d) 26 December 2023 and (e) 31 December 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The UK made an ambitious and generous commitment to help resettle Afghans fleeing persecution and those who served in the UK. Since June 2021, we have brought 24,500 people to safety to the UK.
1,674 people, around half of whom are children, were living in interim accommodation (i.e., hotels/serviced accommodation) at the end of September 2023.
For information on individuals within interim accommodation, including nationality, age, and sex breakdowns, see table Asy_D02 of the asylum and resettlement detailed datasets: Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
For data on those in accommodation by location, see the regional and local authority immigration groups data tables.
We are unable to provide a running commentary on interim accommodation and settled accommodation occupation. The next release of Afghan Operational Data is due for release around 22 February 2024.
Local authorities receive integration tariff funding of £20,520 per person, over three years, for each Afghan family they resettle and provide full integration support for this duration. They have the flexibility to use this funding to contribute towards renting accommodation, including deposit, letting fees and necessary furnishings.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Independent - Bradford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghan refugees who left hotel accommodation between 1 and 31 December 2023 have found permanent accommodation in the same local authority area.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The UK made an ambitious and generous commitment to help resettle Afghans fleeing persecution and those who served in the UK. Since June 2021, we have brought 24,500 people to safety to the UK.
1,674 people, around half of whom are children, were living in interim accommodation (i.e., hotels/serviced accommodation) at the end of September 2023.
For information on individuals within interim accommodation, including nationality, age, and sex breakdowns, see table Asy_D02 of the asylum and resettlement detailed datasets: Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
For data on those in accommodation by location, see the regional and local authority immigration groups data tables.
We are unable to provide a running commentary on interim accommodation and settled accommodation occupation. The next release of Afghan Operational Data is due for release around 22 February 2024.
Local authorities receive integration tariff funding of £20,520 per person, over three years, for each Afghan family they resettle and provide full integration support for this duration. They have the flexibility to use this funding to contribute towards renting accommodation, including deposit, letting fees and necessary furnishings.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Independent - Bradford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support has been provided to Bradford Council by his Department to support Afghan refugees leaving interim hotel accommodation.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The UK made an ambitious and generous commitment to help resettle Afghans fleeing persecution and those who served in the UK. Since June 2021, we have brought 24,500 people to safety to the UK.
1,674 people, around half of whom are children, were living in interim accommodation (i.e., hotels/serviced accommodation) at the end of September 2023.
For information on individuals within interim accommodation, including nationality, age, and sex breakdowns, see table Asy_D02 of the asylum and resettlement detailed datasets: Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
For data on those in accommodation by location, see the regional and local authority immigration groups data tables.
We are unable to provide a running commentary on interim accommodation and settled accommodation occupation. The next release of Afghan Operational Data is due for release around 22 February 2024.
Local authorities receive integration tariff funding of £20,520 per person, over three years, for each Afghan family they resettle and provide full integration support for this duration. They have the flexibility to use this funding to contribute towards renting accommodation, including deposit, letting fees and necessary furnishings.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Independent - Bradford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his planned timetable is to publish further information about the Government's proposed increases to the minimum income requirement for family visas.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The revised minimum income requirement will be implemented in spring 2024.
The Government will set out any transitional provisions associated with this increase in January.
Any applications already submitted will be considered in line with the existing policy.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Independent - Bradford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when police protection was last reviewed for each (a) embassy, (b) high commission, (c) consulate and (d) foreign mission on the London diplomatic list.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat
The UK Government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate.
It is our longstanding policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals' and sites' security.