Asked by: Johnny Mercer (Conservative - Plymouth, Moor View)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when each Afghan national who arrived in the UK under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy, Operation Pitting and the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme will be awarded Indefinite Leave to Remain.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
In recognition of the urgency of the evacuation and the need to act quickly, the majority of those who entered the UK during the evacuation phase were granted limited leave to enter, usually for 6 months, with access to public funds and employment. This status is not a bar to them being permanently housed or to starting their life in the UK, including taking employment.
The Home Office has now started the process to support all those currently in the UK with 6 months leave to apply for and be granted ILR. We will be providing support for the completion of application forms, which will be required to ensure we obtain up to date personal information and to obtain the necessary biometric resident permit consent. Our aim is to conclude this process before anyone’s leave expires.
Communications have been issued advising individuals of next steps to progress permanent residence in the UK. Amongst the information provided, those communications confirm individuals’ rights to employment and to access services (e.g. medical treatment, school places). They also provide links to guidance and information on how prospective employers and landlords can contact the Home Office to confirm individuals’ right to take employment and rented accommodation.
Asked by: Johnny Mercer (Conservative - Plymouth, Moor View)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps Afghan nationals who have settled in the UK under the (a) Ex-Gratia Scheme and (b) Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme need to take to apply for relocation of additional family members in response to the security threat faced by those family members in Afghanistan.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Individuals already settled in the UK under ARAP/EX-Gratia scheme seeking relocation for additional family members are required to apply under the additional family guidance via their original sponsoring department (MOD or FCDO). Application For Relocation To The United Kingdom Under ARAP (office.com)
Asked by: Johnny Mercer (Conservative - Plymouth, Moor View)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, at what stage during an arrest and subsequent policy custody stay police officers should review (a) the Police National Computer and (b) other information sources for previous convictions.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The Police National Computer is the primary source of information on convictions in the United Kingdom. Convictions of EU nationals can be obtained from the country of nationality for EU nationals via the UK Central Authority for the Exchange of Criminal Records (UKCA-ECR). Decisions on when a police officer should check the PNC and the UKCA-ECR are operational matters for the police.
Asked by: Johnny Mercer (Conservative - Plymouth, Moor View)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidelines are given to police officers on giving consideration to the existence of one or more past offences by a suspect when taking a decision on granting bail.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The reasons for which police may refuse, or set conditions on, bail are set out in the Bail Act 1976 and the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. The police have operational independence and are able to exercise their judgement as to whether the conditions set out in these statutes are met. The Home Office has not issued any guidance on these matters.
Asked by: Johnny Mercer (Conservative - Plymouth, Moor View)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2017 to Question 61991, on what date the issue of the omission relating to the recording of licence conditions on the Police National Computer was resolved.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
This issue was resolved on 19 April 2016.
Asked by: Johnny Mercer (Conservative - Plymouth, Moor View)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the findings of the Devon and Cornwall Police inquiry into the murder of Tanis Bhandari that omissions in the recording of license conditions on the Police National Computer are likely to recur.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The omission in the recording of licence conditions in this case related to a Post Sentence Supervision notification, which is applied to offenders released from sentences of more than one day and up to two years in custody. This issue has now been resolved.
All licence conditions are now recorded on the Police National Computer and prisons are also required to notify local police and probation services when offenders are released from their custody.
Asked by: Johnny Mercer (Conservative - Plymouth, Moor View)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the proposal in December 2015 from Save the Children to relocate 3,000 unaccompanied refugee children in Europe.
Answered by James Brokenshire
As the Prime Minister said to Parliament in December, we are looking again at the issue of bringing Syrian children to the UK. In any consideration we must ensure that our proposals are in the best interests of those children affected and do not inadvertently put children at additional risk.
Our Syrian resettlement programme has already resettled vulnerable children as part of family groups, with over 1000 refugees resettled by Christmas.