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 is taking to ensure that people who are offered assistance under Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy by the Ministry of Defence are granted permission to enter the UK.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) offers relocation to eligible Afghan citizens who worked for, or with, a UK government department in Afghanistan - in exposed, meaningful or enabling roles and assessed to be at serious risk as a result of their work. This scheme remains open, and it is free to apply to. Those who are eligible for relocation under the ARAP can relocate with dependent family members.
The Ministry of Defence refers eligible Afghan citizens and their family members to the Home Office for permission to enter the UK subject to the enrolment of biometrics and security checks.
There is no option to enrol biometrics in Afghanistan. We are working with the authorities in neighbouring countries and with international partners to ensure biometric enrolment can be carried out in as rapid and efficient a manner as possible.
The UK is working with international partners, including non-governmental organisations and other countries, to secure safe routes out of Afghanistan as soon as they become available, starting with those in most need. We also intend to establish a diplomatic presence in Afghanistan as soon as the security and political situation allows. We are coordinating this effort with allies.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether an (a) equalities or (b) data impact assessment was undertaken before the introduction of changes to a digital-only portal for (i) right to work and (ii) rent checks relating to immigration status.
Answered by Kevin Foster
On 12 October 2021, an Equality Impact Assessment was completed in respect of the possible removal of the use of physical biometric cards for use within the Right to Work and Right to Rent Schemes, demonstrating due regard to our obligations under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010.
Data Protection Impact Assessments for the Home Office online checking services have been updated to reflect the changes.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the average processing time for (a) applications to the EU Settlement Scheme and (b) a family permit under the EU Settlement Scheme in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Our aim is to process all applications to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) as quickly as possible. Each individual case is considered on its own facts, which means some cases will inevitably take longer than others to conclude. Cases may take longer dependent on the circumstances of the case, for example, if the applicant is facing an impending prosecution or has a criminal record.
The following link lists the expected processing times for EU Settlement Scheme applications, based upon current performance:
Our aim is to conclude applications for an EEA family permit or an EUSS family permit as soon as possible after identity and supporting documents are submitted. More information can be found here;
Visa decision waiting times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Decisions are made in accordance with this service standard where possible.
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 to implement the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union C-247/20 VI on 10 March 2022 on comprehensive sickness insurance.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU in the case C-247/20 raises many questions regarding residence rights and access to benefits under EU law.
The Government is carefully considering the impacts of the judgment and seeking further legal advice on the implications.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress she has made in agreeing bilateral agreements with individual EU member states which would replace measures that existed under the Dublin III Regulation.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The UK is in discussions regarding the returns of asylum seekers to European Member States; it would not be appropriate to provide a running commentary on these negotiations.
We can confirm that work is underway to secure appropriate returns agreements with safe countries. Returns may also be agreed with partner countries on a case-by-case basis without formal agreements. This happened historically, outside of the former Dublin arrangements, and will continue to be part of the approach we apply.
Our inadmissibility provisions in the Immigration Rules give us the legal basis to declare an asylum claim as inadmissible where a person has a connection to or has passed through, a safe country. The first returns on inadmissible grounds have been successfully carried out.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to her oral response of 10 March 2022 to the Urgent Question on refugees from Ukraine, whether Ukrainian nationals applying to the family visa scheme will be required to have more than six months' validity remaining on their passports.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Ukrainian nationals applying under the Ukraine Family Scheme are not required to have more than six months left on their passport.
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 plans to allow people seeking asylum the right to work in the UK.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office already allows asylum seekers the right to work in the UK if their claim has been outstanding for 12 months or more, through no fault of their own.
Those permitted to work are restricted to jobs on the Shortage Occupation List, which is based on expert advice from the independent Migration Advisory Committee.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what urgent steps she is taking to tackle the backlog in processing asylum claims from children.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office is unable to state what the average number of days taken to process claims unaccompanied children seeking asylum in the UK and how many days it took to reach a decision on claims by children seeking asylum in 2021, 2020 and 2019 as this information is not held in a reportable format and therefore cannot be published.
The Home Office have established two dedicated case working Hubs for deciding children’s asylum claims which are now fully operational. The hubs have established improved focus on and greater control of children’s cases to build expertise, identify efficiencies and provide a consistency of decision making (and quicker outcomes) for our customers.
We continue to work collaboratively with Local Authorities nationally on the remote interview process for Accompanied and Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children and young people utilising digital interviewing video capabilities to complement in person interviews.
Since May 2021 we have increased Local Authority opt in for digital interviewing to 108 Local Authorities. This has helped to speed up processes, reduce delays, and by doing so the numbers of children and young people who have an outstanding claim.
We are continuing to recruit additional decision-makers who will be trained to process children’s asylum claims.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many days on average it took to process claims from unaccompanied children seeking asylum in the UK in (a) 2018, (b) 2019, (c) 2020 and (d) 2021; and how many days it is taking currently; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office is unable to state what the average number of days taken to process claims unaccompanied children seeking asylum in the UK and how many days it took to reach a decision on claims by children seeking asylum in 2021, 2020 and 2019 as this information is not held in a reportable format and therefore cannot be published.
The Home Office have established two dedicated case working Hubs for deciding children’s asylum claims which are now fully operational. The hubs have established improved focus on and greater control of children’s cases to build expertise, identify efficiencies and provide a consistency of decision making (and quicker outcomes) for our customers.
We continue to work collaboratively with Local Authorities nationally on the remote interview process for Accompanied and Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children and young people utilising digital interviewing video capabilities to complement in person interviews.
Since May 2021 we have increased Local Authority opt in for digital interviewing to 108 Local Authorities. This has helped to speed up processes, reduce delays, and by doing so the numbers of children and young people who have an outstanding claim.
We are continuing to recruit additional decision-makers who will be trained to process children’s asylum claims.