Asked by: Karen Bradley (Conservative - Staffordshire Moorlands)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on joining (a) Europol, (b) Eurojust, (c) the Schengen Information System (SIS II), (d) the European Criminal Records Information System and (e) Passenger Name Records Data on 1 January 2021; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The safety and security of our citizens is the Government’s top priority.
We’ve been negotiating an agreement with the EU on law enforcement and criminal justice to equip operational partners on both sides with capabilities to protect citizens and bring criminals to justice.
As set out in the UK’s published Approach to Negotiations, we believe an agreement in this area should include: arrangements that support data exchange for law enforcement purposes; operational cooperation between law enforcement authorities; and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. We have therefore proposed this agreement should include capabilities similar to those provided by SIS II, ECRIS and PNR.
The UK is not seeking membership of either Europol or Eurojust – that is not how third country arrangements with these agencies work. In line with the UK Approach, our legal text provides for cooperation between the UK and Europol and UK and Eurojust to facilitate multilateral law enforcement and criminal justice cooperation.
The UK will continue to be a global leader on security and one of the safest countries in the world.
Asked by: Karen Bradley (Conservative - Staffordshire Moorlands)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to establish the electronic travel authorisation scheme; and whether that scheme will be operational by 1 January 2021.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We intend to introduce legislation to establish the Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme next year. Until this legislation is passed the scheme cannot be introduced.
This scheme will be developed for delivery as part of the wider multi-year programme of change to the UK’s Points-Based Border and Immigration system.
Asked by: Karen Bradley (Conservative - Staffordshire Moorlands)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what training requirements her Department plans to include in outsourcing contracts for people undertaking asylum interviews to identify cases of human trafficking and modern-day slavery.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Asylum Operations are exploring many options to reduce the number of outstanding asylum claims. Alongside seeking temporary resource from within the Home Office and other government departments, we are also exploring with third-party suppliers to test the viability of whether they can deliver the support required as a temporary, short term measure. Asylum interviews have not been outsourced, and at this stage we are only exploring the potential feasibility.
Third party interviewing officers will complete a bespoke training package, delivered by the qualified asylum operations training team, that has been designed specifically to meet their needs. The course will include training specifically about modern slavery and safeguarding awareness. Anyone who conducts asylum interviews receives thorough training to ensure they are fully equipped for the role.
To guarantee governance and accountability, mechanisms are in place to provide oversight of third-party interviews, the department has a quality assurance process which assesses the quality of decisions, interviews and the application of Home Office policy. This will include those interviews conducted by third party interviewing officers
Asked by: Karen Bradley (Conservative - Staffordshire Moorlands)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many potential victims of modern slavery were identified and referred to the National Referral Mechanism at (a) seaports, (b) airports and (c) rail ports in each year from 2016 to 2019 inclusive.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The location from which a First Responder identified and referred a potential victim of modern slavery to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is not captured in a reportable format.
The Home Office publishes statistics on referrals into the National Referral Mechanism on a quarterly basis. These reports detail the number of referrals submitted into the NRM by Border Force, however they are not broken down by port. These reports can be located via the following links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-referral-mechanism-statistics
Asked by: Karen Bradley (Conservative - Staffordshire Moorlands)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) identified potential victims of human trafficking or modern slavery and (b) persons prosecuted for human trafficking or modern slavery offences were stopped from entering the UK having tried to enter with forged, illegal or fraudulent documents or were otherwise undocumented in each calendar year from 2016 to 2019 inclusive.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The specific information requested is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. This is because a manual search through individual records would be required to identify individuals who have been refused entry to the UK from 2016 to 2019 as well as searching such records to identify victims of modern slavery who were identified and referred to the National Referral Mechanism
Tackling human trafficking and modern slavery, both in the UK and overseas, is a priority for the government. The Modern Slavery Act 2015 gives law enforcement agencies the tools to tackle modern slavery and provides protection for victims. The Modern Slavery Act also includes powers which enable law enforcement officers, including Border Force, to pursue modern slavery perpetrators at sea.
Border Force has a duty of care to all crossing the border and adults with vulnerability for any reason will be dealt with respect and care.
The Home Office publishes statistics on referrals into the National Referral Mechanism on a quarterly basis. These reports detail the number of referrals submitted into the NRM by Border Force, however they are not broken down by port. These reports can be located via the following links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-referral-mechanism-statistics
Asked by: Karen Bradley (Conservative - Staffordshire Moorlands)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many individuals have been refused entry to the UK at all ports of entry as a result of convictions for human trafficking and modern slavery or similar offences (a) in the UK, (b) in the EU and (c) in the rest of the world, in each calendar year from 2016 to 2019 inclusive.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The specific information you have requested is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. This is because a manual search through individual records would be required to identify individuals have been refused entry to the UK from 2016 to 2019 inclusive
We do not hold data on those refused in EU countries and the rest of the world
Tackling human trafficking and modern slavery, both in the UK and overseas, is a priority for the government. The Modern Slavery Act 2015 gives law enforcement agencies the tools to tackle modern slavery and provides protection for victims. The Modern Slavery Act also includes powers which enable law enforcement officers, including Border Force, to pursue modern slavery perpetrators at sea.
Border Force has a duty of care to all crossing the border and adults with vulnerability for any reason will be dealt with respect and care.
Asked by: Karen Bradley (Conservative - Staffordshire Moorlands)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many exit checks (a) in person and (b) using automated processes were carried out for EEA and Swiss nationals departing from all UK ports and airports in (i) 2018 and (ii) 2019; and what information those checks recorded.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We re-introduced exit checks in April 2015 to further complement our work on border security, plus support the Home Office’s wider work to deal with illegal immigration.
The vast majority of passengers leaving the country on scheduled commercial international air, sea and rail routes now go through exit checks. The data collected is already providing the police and security services with information to help track the movements of known criminals and terrorists.
Border Force hold data for outbound alerts issued by Border Force at the National Border Targeting Centre (NBTC). However, we do not hold a breakdown of the data in the format requested.
A variety of agencies, including Border Force, undertake in person outbound interventions, as a result of this activity there is no single record held on their respective outcomes.
Government is working to ensure all parties including other government departments, traders, industry and passengers are prepared for the changes which will come into effect at the UK border on 1 January 2021.
Asked by: Karen Bradley (Conservative - Staffordshire Moorlands)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made on introducing automated exit checks for people departing the UK; and whether exit checks will be carried out on (a) all travellers and (b) at all ports from 1 January 2021.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We re-introduced exit checks in April 2015 to further complement our work on border security, plus support the Home Office’s wider work to deal with illegal immigration.
The vast majority of passengers leaving the country on scheduled commercial international air, sea and rail routes now go through exit checks. The data collected is already providing the police and security services with information to help track the movements of known criminals and terrorists.
Border Force hold data for outbound alerts issued by Border Force at the National Border Targeting Centre (NBTC). However, we do not hold a breakdown of the data in the format requested.
A variety of agencies, including Border Force, undertake in person outbound interventions, as a result of this activity there is no single record held on their respective outcomes.
Government is working to ensure all parties including other government departments, traders, industry and passengers are prepared for the changes which will come into effect at the UK border on 1 January 2021.