Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had recent discussions with representatives of third sector organisations on support for refugees outside the UK.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
This country will always play our part, alongside others, to help those fleeing war and persecution, but we need a proper system where rules are enforced.
The UK welcomes refugees through our global resettlement schemes which include the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship and the Mandate Resettlement Scheme. We continue to keep all policies under review.
The numbers resettled through the UKRS depend on a range of factors including the flow of referrals from UNHCR in the field and the availability of suitable accommodation and integration support in the UK.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the Public and Commercial Services Union and Care4Calais report entitled, Safe and Secure Routes: Refugee Visa-to-Travel Proposal, published on 25 March 2025.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
This country will always play our part, alongside others, to help those fleeing war and persecution, but we need a proper system where rules are enforced.
The UK welcomes refugees through our global resettlement schemes which include the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship and the Mandate Resettlement Scheme. We continue to keep all policies under review.
The numbers resettled through the UKRS depend on a range of factors including the flow of referrals from UNHCR in the field and the availability of suitable accommodation and integration support in the UK.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had recent discussions with representatives of Border Force on the potential impact of channel crossings on staff wellbeing.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
We recognise the work of Border Force staff in relation to channel crossings and continue to ensure support is in place for them. All Border Force colleagues have access to peer support on a 24/7 basis, allowing them to speak to a volunteer who is trained in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), Trauma Risk Management (TRiM), Applied Suicide Intervention Skills (ASIST) or Sustaining Resilience at Work (StRaW). All operational colleagues have access to the Police Treatment Centres, which support recovery from a variety of physical and mental ailments on a residential basis.
The Border Force Wellbeing team also manage the Border Force Wellbeing Hub and run a variety of events throughout the year on key wellbeing themes, including stress, anxiety, shift working and health. Border Force line managers are also trained with the information and tools to discuss wellbeing and mental health with their teams, how to spot the warning signs and how to refer a team member for further help.
All Home Office staff also have access to the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) which provides support for a wide variety of issues.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 32013 on Asylum, whether she has commissioned any reports on expanding (a) safe and (b) legal routes for people seeking asylum within the last twelve months.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
This country will always play our part, alongside others, to help those fleeing war and persecution, but we need a proper system where rules are enforced.
The UK welcomes refugees through our global resettlement schemes which include the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship and the Mandate Resettlement Scheme. We continue to keep all policies under review.
The numbers resettled through the UKRS depend on a range of factors including the flow of referrals from UNHCR in the field and the availability of suitable accommodation and integration support in the UK.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of expanding safe and legal routes available to asylum seekers on the numbers of small boats crossing the Channel.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The UK continues to welcome refugees and people in need through our existing global resettlement schemes which include the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship and the Mandate Resettlement Scheme. Safe and legal routes will continue to play a vital role in our overall migration system. However, given the scale of today’s global displacement challenges, it is not possible to offer a pathway into the UK to every person who needs or wants one. Those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach – that is the fastest route to safety.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate her Department has made of the number of families that have no recourse to public funds.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The availability of data in respect of the number of families that have No Recourse to Public Funds condition is currently limited, while the Home Office transitions its casework operations to a new management information system until the transition process is complete.
Once fully migrated to the new system, it will be possible to explore what further information on NRPF can be produced.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applicants for compensation under the Windrush Compensation Scheme have died while waiting for a decision on their application.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
As at the end of June 2024, in line with the latest published Transparency data, out of the 8,607 claims received by the Windrush Compensation Scheme, we are aware of 56 claimants* who have unfortunately passed away after having submitted a claim.
The Windrush Compensation Scheme staff are working hard to ensure claims are prioritised for claimants with critical or life-limiting illnesses and would encourage any claimants in this situation who have not been in recent contact with our casework teams to do so. We recognise the significant impact difficult circumstances such as these can have on individuals, and their families, and we remain committed to continually improving our support and services.
In the difficult circumstances where a claimant has passed away after submitting a compensation claim, before the claim is fully resolved, the team is committed to working closely with the representative of the estate, usually a member of the family, to ensure the compensation payment is made as quickly as possible to the representative.
Our priority is to ensure people receive the maximum compensation as quickly as possible. We have reduced the time to allocate a claim for a substantive casework consideration, from 18 months to under 4 months, with the aim to allocate quicker where possible. This period includes all essential eligibility checks, together with a Preliminary Assessment to make an initial payment of £10k wherever possible.
*Please note that this data is manually recorded and is reliant on the person receiving the information on a claimant’s death, notifying the Windrush Compensation Scheme to record this information.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of trends in the number of technical issues in relation to home office applications since January 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
Increasingly since 2023, applications to remain in the United Kingdom have been processed on the new caseworking system, Atlas.
It is a complex system that has many integrated services such as security checking, sending notifications to applicants, triggering the production of BRP cards or creation of digital status. Whilst there have been some issues encountered as Atlas has been developed, no systemic issues have been identified that have caused concerns to be raised with the third-party IT suppliers helping develop and support Atlas.
Most technical issues are resolved within days.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time taken was to resolve technical issues in relation to processing home office applications in each month in 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
Increasingly since 2023, applications to remain in the United Kingdom have been processed on the new caseworking system, Atlas.
It is a complex system that has many integrated services such as security checking, sending notifications to applicants, triggering the production of BRP cards or creation of digital status. Whilst there have been some issues encountered as Atlas has been developed, no systemic issues have been identified that have caused concerns to be raised with the third-party IT suppliers helping develop and support Atlas.
Most technical issues are resolved within days.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has raised concerns with third-party providers on technical issues impacting claims since January 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
Increasingly since 2023, applications to remain in the United Kingdom have been processed on the new caseworking system, Atlas.
It is a complex system that has many integrated services such as security checking, sending notifications to applicants, triggering the production of BRP cards or creation of digital status. Whilst there have been some issues encountered as Atlas has been developed, no systemic issues have been identified that have caused concerns to be raised with the third-party IT suppliers helping develop and support Atlas.
Most technical issues are resolved within days.