Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure decisions on whether to grant Indefinite Leave to Remain under Appendix VDA are made (a) correctly and (b) with reference to appropriate evidence.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
All applications are decided by a dedicated and specialised casework team in accordance with Appendix Victim of Domestic Abuse which sets out the requirements to be met to qualify for settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain) where a relevant relationship has broken down because of domestic abuse. If the application is refused, the person can apply for an Administrative Review where they feel the decision is incorrect due to a case working error.
Associated guidance provides examples of evidence that can be provided and factors to consider when deciding applications. All information and evidence available are considered in the round when deciding on the balance of probabilities, if the relationship broke down because of domestic abuse.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to protect Hindu places of worship.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are committed to protecting the right of individuals to freely practise their religion and we will not tolerate anti-Hindu hatred in any form. Government and police routinely assess potential threats to ensure that protective measures are in place to protect Hindu communities and their places of worship against terrorism and hate crime.
Additionally, Hindu communities can apply to the Places of Worship Protective Security Scheme. The scheme provides physical protective security measures (such as CCTV, intruder alarms and secure perimeter fencing) to places of worship and associated faith community centres of all other faiths in England and Wales that are particularly vulnerable to religiously or racially motivated hate crime.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle violence against women and girls in the asylum system.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The health and safety of asylum seekers is of paramount importance to the Home Office. We are committed to delivering an asylum process that is gender sensitive – building on the wider Government strategy to tackle violence against women and girls.
All decision-makers receive mandatory training on considering asylum claims and must follow published Home Office policy guidance, including specific guidance on gender issues, which covers specific forms of gender-based persecution.
The Home Office works closely with partners on a range of initiatives, including those which are reflected in our gender asylum policy guidance, for example providing information about safeguarding and signposting to support services and provision of gender specific interviewers and interpreters. You can find this guidance here: Gender issues in asylum claims: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Our providers maintain high standards and follow established standard procedures to manage the safety, security and wellbeing of those we accommodate.
The Home Office has published the Asylum Support Contracts Safeguarding Framework at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-support-contracts-safeguarding-framework(opens in a new tab).
This framework sets out a joint, overarching approach, as well as the key controls and reporting mechanisms in place, across the Asylum Accommodation and Support Services contracts, for safeguarding arrangements.
A 24/7 helpline provided by Migrant Help is available to raise any concerns.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle hate crime against transgender people.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to tackling hate crime and is determined to root out hatred in all its forms.
We have committed to protect LGBT+ and disabled people by making all existing strands of hate crime an aggravated offence. We will set out next steps in due course.
The Government funds True Vision, an online hate crime reporting portal designed so that victims of all forms of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report. We also fund the National Online Hate Crime Hub which supports local police forces in dealing with all types of online hate crime and provides expert advice to support forces in investigating these despicable offences.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to roll out open access young futures hubs for (a) children and (b) young people in (i) Aylesbury constituency and (ii) Buckinghamshire.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to rolling out a Young Futures programme which will bring together local services to improve the delivery of support for young people at risk of being drawn into crime .
The HO has already set up a YF delivery unit to make progress on the design of local prevention partnerships and will be working cross government on the design and delivery of Young Futures Hubs. More information will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of linking the minimum income requirement for spousal visa applications to the National Living Wage.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The financial requirements for the Family Immigration Rules include the Minimum Income Requirement (MIR) which is currently set at £29,000 and is intended to maintain the economic wellbeing of the UK whilst respecting family life.
The Home Secretary has announced her intention to commission the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to review the financial requirements in the Family Immigration Rules. Conducting a review of the financial requirements across the family routes will ensure we have a clear and consistent system.
There will be no changes to the current threshold of £29,000, or the ways in which the MIR can be met, until the MAC review is complete.