To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.


Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
Visas: Overseas Students
Thursday 22nd September 2016

Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of visa applications involving the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Bath, and Imperial College London, were successful in each of the last three years.

Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)

Visa refusal rate data is produced for internal use only and is not intended for publication.

The data requested provides sensitive information about sponsors’ compliance with their immigration requirements and by extension how likely they are to retain their sponsor licence. As this information could potentially impact their reputation and ability to attract international students, and therefore their commercial viability, we are unable to provide the information requested on the basis of commercial confidentiality.


Written Question
Visas: Overseas Students
Thursday 22nd September 2016

Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which were the top 10 universities for successfully processed visa applications for each of the past three years; and what were the percentages of applications successfully processed for each.

Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)

Visa refusal rate data is produced for internal use only and is not intended for publication.

The data requested provides sensitive information about sponsors’ compliance with their immigration requirements and by extension how likely they are to retain their sponsor licence. As this information could potentially impact their reputation and ability to attract international students, and therefore their commercial viability, we are unable to provide the information requested on the basis of commercial confidentiality.


Written Question
Visas: Overseas Students
Thursday 22nd September 2016

Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to implement the recommendation in the Smith Commission Report on post-study work visas; and if so, how.

Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)

We will shortly be publishing the Government’s response to the recommendations made in the Scottish Affairs Committee’s report: “Post-study work schemes”.


Written Question
Visas: Overseas Students
Thursday 22nd September 2016

Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consultations took place with the Scottish Government in advance of the announcement of the pilot study on post-study work visas in July.

Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)

We have been in correspondence with the Scottish Government concerning the Tier 4 visa pilot. There is no pilot study currently being conducted into post-study work visas.

The Tier 4 visa pilot is part of the Home Office’s continued efforts to ensure that the UK maintains an excellent offer to attract the brightest and best to study at our world-leading institutions. The pilot is deliberately narrow in scope, with the institutions selected on the basis of their consistently low level of visa refusals. Its main aim is to test the benefits of a differentiated approach within Tier 4, whilst ensuring any changes do not undermine the robust application of immigration requirements.

The pilot helps simplify the visa application process for international students looking to study on a Masters’ course, in the UK, of 13 months or less. Whilst it will also help to support students who wish to switch into a work route by extending the leave period following the end of their study to up to six months, it does not make any changes to the Tier 2 visa route and is not a return to the post-study work visa route.

The four selected institutions were consulted regarding its implementation. Should the pilot be successful, the Home Office will consult key stakeholders about its possible expansion.


Written Question
Visas: Overseas Students
Thursday 22nd September 2016

Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have received from the Scottish Government since July concerning the new pilot study on post-study work visas.

Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)

We have been in contact with the Scottish Government concerning the Tier 4 visa pilot. There is no pilot study currently being conducted into post-study work visas.

The Tier 4 visa pilot is part of the Home Office’s continued efforts to ensure that the UK maintains an excellent offer to attract the brightest and best to study at our world-leading institutions. The pilot is deliberately narrow in scope, with the institutions selected on the basis of their consistently low level of visa refusals. Its main aim is to test the benefits of a differentiated approach within Tier 4, whilst ensuring any changes do not undermine the robust application of immigration requirements.

The pilot helps simplify the visa application process for international students looking to study on a Masters’ course, in the UK, of 13 months or less. Whilst it will also help to support students who wish to switch into a work route by extending the leave period following the end of their study to up to six months, it does not make any changes to the Tier 2 visa route and is not a return to the post-study work visa route.

The four selected institutions were consulted regarding its implementation. Should the pilot be successful, the Home Office will consult key stakeholders about its possible expansion.


Written Question
Offences against Children
Monday 8th June 2015

Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the Minister for Preventing Abuse and Exploitation and the Department for Education will work together to tackle child neglect.

Answered by Lord Bates

Tackling all forms of abuse and exploitation of children is a priority for this Government. We will continue the urgent work of overhauling how our police, social care and other agencies work together to protect vulnerable children, including from the kind of organised grooming and sexual exploitation that has come to light in Rotherham, Rochdale and other towns and cities across the UK.

On 3 March, the previous Government published a report into the response to the failures in Rotherham, which were identified by Professor Alexis Jay and Louise Casey in their reviews. The report includes tough new measures to tackle child sexual exploitation and sets out a comprehensive, targeted set of actions, bringing together healthcare, social care, education, law enforcement, criminal justice agencies, and local and national government.

The Home Office’s Minister for Preventing Abuse and Exploitation leads and coordinates work to tackle child sexual exploitation, as well as missing children and adults, child sexual abuse online, violence against women and girls, and modern slavery including child trafficking. The Department for Education is responsible for Child Protection issues including child neglect.

The Home Office and the Department for Education work closely on these issues with other Government departments, to ensure cross-Government policy coherence for children in England. Ministers and officials meet regularly to oversee the important work on child sexual abuse and have established a cross- Government programme board to oversee the development and implementation of this work. Government Departments represented at this board include the Home Office, Department for Education, Department for Communities and Local Government, Department of Health, Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General’s Office.


Written Question
Offences against Children
Monday 8th June 2015

Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the Minister for Preventing Abuse and Exploitation’s responsibilities include in relation to preventing child neglect.

Answered by Lord Bates

Tackling all forms of abuse and exploitation of children is a priority for this Government. We will continue the urgent work of overhauling how our police, social care and other agencies work together to protect vulnerable children, including from the kind of organised grooming and sexual exploitation that has come to light in Rotherham, Rochdale and other towns and cities across the UK.

On 3 March, the previous Government published a report into the response to the failures in Rotherham, which were identified by Professor Alexis Jay and Louise Casey in their reviews. The report includes tough new measures to tackle child sexual exploitation and sets out a comprehensive, targeted set of actions, bringing together healthcare, social care, education, law enforcement, criminal justice agencies, and local and national government.

The Home Office’s Minister for Preventing Abuse and Exploitation leads and coordinates work to tackle child sexual exploitation, as well as missing children and adults, child sexual abuse online, violence against women and girls, and modern slavery including child trafficking. The Department for Education is responsible for Child Protection issues including child neglect.

The Home Office and the Department for Education work closely on these issues with other Government departments, to ensure cross-Government policy coherence for children in England. Ministers and officials meet regularly to oversee the important work on child sexual abuse and have established a cross- Government programme board to oversee the development and implementation of this work. Government Departments represented at this board include the Home Office, Department for Education, Department for Communities and Local Government, Department of Health, Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General’s Office.


Written Question
Offences against Children
Monday 8th June 2015

Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure cross-government policy coherence regarding child exploitation and neglect.

Answered by Lord Bates

Tackling all forms of abuse and exploitation of children is a priority for this Government. We will continue the urgent work of overhauling how our police, social care and other agencies work together to protect vulnerable children, including from the kind of organised grooming and sexual exploitation that has come to light in Rotherham, Rochdale and other towns and cities across the UK.

On 3 March, the previous Government published a report into the response to the failures in Rotherham, which were identified by Professor Alexis Jay and Louise Casey in their reviews. The report includes tough new measures to tackle child sexual exploitation and sets out a comprehensive, targeted set of actions, bringing together healthcare, social care, education, law enforcement, criminal justice agencies, and local and national government.

The Home Office’s Minister for Preventing Abuse and Exploitation leads and coordinates work to tackle child sexual exploitation, as well as missing children and adults, child sexual abuse online, violence against women and girls, and modern slavery including child trafficking. The Department for Education is responsible for Child Protection issues including child neglect.

The Home Office and the Department for Education work closely on these issues with other Government departments, to ensure cross-Government policy coherence for children in England. Ministers and officials meet regularly to oversee the important work on child sexual abuse and have established a cross- Government programme board to oversee the development and implementation of this work. Government Departments represented at this board include the Home Office, Department for Education, Department for Communities and Local Government, Department of Health, Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General’s Office.


Written Question
Female Genital Mutilation
Tuesday 17th February 2015

Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Bates on 19 December (HL3453, HL3455 and HL3456), whether any of the data collected in studies funded by the Home Office covers the whole of the United Kingdom or just England and Wales; and whether any United Kingdom-wide data has been disaggregated for the four nations of the United Kingdom.

Answered by Lord Bates

The Government is committed to tackling female genital mutilation (FGM). The multi-agency practice guidelines on FGM are designed for application in England
and Wales. The guidelines include a weblink to information on the Scottish Government’s work on FGM.

The 42 joint protocols between the police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service apply in England and Wales only.

The 2007 and 2014 prevalence studies part-funded by the Home Office cover the number of girls and women affected by FGM in England and Wales. The full version of the 2014 study including data disaggregated at a local level in England and Wales will be published shortly.

The Government’s new specialist FGM Unit will work in consultation with partners in Scotland, as appropriate, to ensure a joined up approach to tackling FGM across the UK.


Written Question
Female Genital Mutilation
Tuesday 17th February 2015

Asked by: Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Bates on 19 December (HL3453, HL3455 and HL3456), whether any of the 42 joint protocols between the police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service have any impact in Scotland; and whether any joint protocol has been established between police and prosecution services in England and Wales and in Scotland.

Answered by Lord Bates

The Government is committed to tackling female genital mutilation (FGM). The multi-agency practice guidelines on FGM are designed for application in England
and Wales. The guidelines include a weblink to information on the Scottish Government’s work on FGM.

The 42 joint protocols between the police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service apply in England and Wales only.

The 2007 and 2014 prevalence studies part-funded by the Home Office cover the number of girls and women affected by FGM in England and Wales. The full version of the 2014 study including data disaggregated at a local level in England and Wales will be published shortly.

The Government’s new specialist FGM Unit will work in consultation with partners in Scotland, as appropriate, to ensure a joined up approach to tackling FGM across the UK.