Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's White Paper of December 2018, The UK’s future skills-based immigration system, Cm 9722, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of reducing the length of the cooling-off period applicable to low-skilled visas as set out in that paper.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Government commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to advise on salary thresholds and how points could be awarded to prospective migrants under a new points-based immigration system. The MAC published its report on 28 January and the Government will consider carefully their findings and recommendations before setting out further detail in due course.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to publish the report of the Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration on Adults at Risk in Detention Policy, which was submitted to her Department on 29 July 2019.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Home Secretary is considering the ICIBI report on Adults at Risk in Detention Policy, and it will be laid in Parliament in due course.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral contribution of the Prime Minister of 25 July 2019, Official Report column 1493, what progress her Department has made in reviewing the ban on asylum seekers working.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Work on the review of Home Office policy on asylum seeker right to work is ongoing. This is a complex issue and it is crucial we take the time to get this right. We are listening carefully to the arguments and considering the evidence put forward on the issue.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the procedure is for UK employers from 1 January 2021 to 30 June 2021 will be able to check the right to work of an EEA citizen who has lived in the UK before 1 January 2021 but not yet gained (a) settled and (b) pre-settled status, given the deadline for applications settled status is 30 June 2021.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
We will shortly set out details in relation to checks by employers and other third parties during the period from 1 January 2021 to 30 June 2021. Our approach will ensure that those who are eligible for the EU Settlement Scheme but have not yet obtained status will continue to have the right to work during this period.
We will also ensure that right to work checks continue to be straightforward for employers to carry out, and will communicate any changes to the current system clearly and well in advance of their introduction.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the procedure is for EEA citizens who have lived in the UK before 1 January 2021 and not gained (a) settled and (b) pre-settled status, to demonstrate their right to work in the UK after the introduction of a new immigration system on 1 January 2021 and before the deadline for settled status applications on 30 June 2021.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
We will shortly set out details in relation to checks by employers and other third parties during the period from 1 January 2021 to 30 June 2021. Our approach will ensure that those who are eligible for the EU Settlement Scheme but have not yet obtained status will continue to have the right to work during this period.
We will also ensure that right to work checks continue to be straightforward for employers to carry out, and will communicate any changes to the current system clearly and well in advance of their introduction.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department will take to alert EEA citizens whose pre-settled status is about to expire to apply for settled status.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
At paragraph 1.18 of the Statement of Intent on the EU Settlement Scheme, published in June 2018 (available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eu-settlement-scheme-statement-of-intent), the Government committed to reminding holders of pre-settled status, before its expiry, to apply for settled status.
Details of exactly how and when such reminders will be issued are currently being developed.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the Border Force budget was in each financial year since 2012-13; how many full-time equivalent staff were (a) planned for and (b) actually employed using that budget in each of those years; how much and what proportion of that budget was from a temporary budget increase relating to the UK leaving the EU; and what the Border Force's (i) budget and (ii) full-time equivalent staffing projections are for the financial years 2019-20 and 2020-21.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The latest published staffing and finance figures for Border Force can be found in the Home Office Annual Report for 2018-2019 on page 85 at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2018-to-2019
The previous published staffing and financial figures for Border Force in 2012-2019 and its predecessor the UK Border Agency in 2010-2012 can be found at the following links:
2012-2013:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2012-to-2013
2013-2014:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2013-to-2014
2014-2015:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-to-2015
2015-2016:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2015-to-2016
2016-2017:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2016-to-2017
2017-2018:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018
Excluding EU Exit, Border Force’s gross resource budget for 2019-20 is £488m. This includes an income target of £19m, which means a net allocation of £469m.
Border Force has received a total of c.£182m for EU Exit preparations in 2019/20. (£141m Resource and £41M Capital)
Border Force originally received funding, based on a Deal, of £100m; this funding was to fund recruitment for full customs compliance by the end of 2020. The recruitment and training for this uplift of permanent staff has completed bringing the Border Force FTE to over 8,700 from 7,700 in March 2018. The additional £41m Resource funding provided throughout 2019-20 enabled further recruitment with Border Force expecting to reach c9,300 FTE by March 2020.
Border Force received a total £82.1m for EU Exit preparations in 2018/19 (£72.1m Resource and £10m Capital)
Border Force received a total of £3.2m for EU Exit preparations in 2017/18 (£1.7m Resource and £1.5m Capital)
Budgets for 20-21 cannot be confirmed as they remain subject to final confirmation.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of section 176 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 on shoplifting and associated violence against shop-workers, and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government recognises the damaging impact that violence and abuse can have on victims, businesses, and the wider community; and we are committed to tackling this issue.
To ensure that our response to retail crime is as robust as possible we work with a wide range of partners through the National Retail Crime Steering Group, including the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and British Retail Consortium.
In addition, we launched a call for evidence on violence and abuse toward shop staff to help strengthen our understanding of the scale and extent of the issue. The call for evidence has now closed and we are carefully analysing the responses before deciding what further action may be required. We intend to publish the government’s response in due course.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has plans to ask H.M. Inspectorate of Constabulary And Fire & Rescue Services to undertake an assessment of the adequacy of the performance of police forces in relation to violence in the retail sector, and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government recognises the damaging impact that violence and abuse can have on victims, businesses, and the wider community; and we are committed to tackling this issue.
To ensure that our response to retail crime is as robust as possible we work with a wide range of partners through the National Retail Crime Steering Group, including the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and British Retail Consortium.
In addition, we launched a call for evidence on violence and abuse toward shop staff to help strengthen our understanding of the scale and extent of the issue. The call for evidence has now closed and we are carefully analysing the responses before deciding what further action may be required. We intend to publish the government’s response in due course.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking with (a) Police and Crime Commissioners and (b) Chief Constables to reduce incidences of violence against shop-workers.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government recognises the damaging impact that violence and abuse can have on victims, businesses, and the wider community; and we are committed to tackling this issue.
To ensure that our response to retail crime is as robust as possible we work with a wide range of partners through the National Retail Crime Steering Group, including the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and British Retail Consortium.
In addition, we launched a call for evidence on violence and abuse toward shop staff to help strengthen our understanding of the scale and extent of the issue. The call for evidence has now closed and we are carefully analysing the responses before deciding what further action may be required. We intend to publish the government’s response in due course.