Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the proportion of asylum applications that will result in a grant of refugee status or humanitarian protection in Rwanda.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Under the Migration and Economic Development Partnership, once an individual is relocated to Rwanda, they will accept physical and legal responsibility for processing their claims and supporting them. The granting of refugee status or humanitarian protection will be for Rwanda to decide on each case.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to include assessments of the cross-border money laundering risks faced and posed by the UK to countries in Africa in the next National Risk Assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The UK National Risk Assessment (NRA) of money laundering and terrorist financing sets out how criminals try to move illicit funds through the UK and the risks this poses.
The NRA is primarily a domestic assessment of businesses and sectors that are vulnerable to money laundering and terrorist financing risks. It does not include information on the risks posed by the UK to other jurisdictions. However, it does include an assessment of cross-border risks. In the most recent NRA (2020), Africa is referenced in relation to organised immigration crime, international terrorism and the portability of luxury and wholesale goods across borders.
Africa may feature in the next NRA if countries are identified as a risk, based on the NRA methodology and the intelligence picture at that time.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 March 2022 to Question 143639, if she will publish data relating to the proportions of (a) money laundering cases under investigation, (b) value of assets subject to restraint, (c) value of assets confiscated, (d) value of assets enforced, (e) value of assets returned from confiscation work and (f) other performance measures in relation to (i) geographic regions of the countries affected, and (ii) income levels of the countries affected.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Statistics on the proceeds of crime restrained and confiscated are published every year by the Home Office in the Asset Recovery Statistical Bulletin. The link to the latest release can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/asset-recovery-statistics.
Annex B of the Statistical bulletin sets out the total value of proceeds of crime returned to foreign governments under the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and where the UK exercises its discretion to return funds in appropriate cases when it is not otherwise mandated under UNCAC.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for its policies of offshore immigration processing schemes used by other countries, including the impact of these schemes on asylum seekers and migrants’ (a) safety, (b) access to legal recourse and (c) freedom from persecution.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Migration and Economic Development Partnership between the UK and Rwanda is a completely new and innovative approach. Individuals deemed inadmissible to the UK’s asylum system may have their asylum claim considered in Rwanda rather than in the UK, with a view to receiving the protection they need in Rwanda if their claim is granted. Rwanda will accept physical and legal responsibility for the relocated individuals. Anyone granted protection will be supported in Rwanda to build a safe and prosperous new life, supported for 5 years with integration support, accommodation and healthcare.
Everyone considered for relocations will be screened, interviewed, and have access to legal advice in the UK prior to relocation. Decisions will be taken on a case-by-case basis and nobody will be removed if it is unsafe or inappropriate for them.
Rwanda has a strong history of welcoming refugees, gaining international recognition for improving their lives, employability and integration in local communities.
Rwanda will process claims in accordance with the UN Refugee Convention, national and international human rights laws, and will ensure their protection from inhuman and degrading treatment or being returned to the place they originally fled.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the (a) cost and (b) carbon impact per migrant of her proposals to transport and detain asylum seekers in Rwanda.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Under the Migration and Economic Development Partnership, people who are relocated to Rwanda will not be detained there. The UK will provide funding for the processing costs for each person relocated there. Every person’s needs are different, and funding will only be provided while a person remains in Rwanda.
The UK remains committed to honouring its obligations on climate change, including those contained in the Glasgow Climate Pact. This is unaffected by bilateral agreements signed by the UK, such as the one recently agreed with the Government of Rwanda. The UK continues to work closely with the Government of Rwanda on climate issues, including ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in June.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to expand access to independent child trafficking guardians to all local authorities in England and Wales.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Government is committed to delivering the national rollout of the Independent Child Trafficking Guardians (ICTG) service. To date, a staggered approach to rollout has been adopted with robust built-in evaluations to ensure the ICTG service meets the needs of the vulnerable children it supports.
In May 2021, the ICTG service was further expanded to cover in total two thirds of all local authorities across England and Wales, focussing on the areas of highest need.
As part of this phase of the rollout, we are undertaking the targeted testing of recommendations made by the Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. An independent evaluation will be carried out to look at the added value of these changes and consider appropriate next steps.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies on (a) treatment of detainees including migrants, (b) democracy and (c) other human rights issues in Rwanda of the Government’s plans to establish a migrant deportation policy with that country; and if she will make an assessment of the impact of that policy on the credibility of statements by the Government on human rights violations in other countries.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We are confident that the Migration and Economic Development Partnership is fully compliant with domestic and international law, including human rights law. We do not see this Partnership as incompatible with UK positions on human rights, and therefore do not foresee any impact on the credibility of our statements on human rights violations in other countries – as evidenced by recent statements on Ukraine.
Rwanda is a State Party to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and the seven core UN Human Rights Conventions. It is recognised globally for its record on welcoming and integrating migrants, including over 500 people evacuated from Libya under the EU’s Emergency Transit Mechanism working in partnership with the UNHCR. Under this agreement, they will process claims in accordance with the UN Refugee Convention, national and international human rights laws.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate her Department has made of the impact of the no recourse to public funds policy on levels of (a) homelessness and (b) rough sleeping for EU nationals in the UK.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office works closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to reduce the incidence of rough sleeping among non-UK nationals. The Home Office Rough Sleeping Support Service (RSSS) gives real-time immigration information to local authorities and registered charities, to help them assess rough sleepers’ status and entitlements. Where individuals with unresolved immigration status cannot access the support they may be entitled to, the RSSS supports them to resolve their status and gain access to that support.
Migrants with leave under the family and human rights routes, and those who have been granted leave on the Hong Kong British National (Overseas) visa route as a British National (Overseas) status holder or a family member of a British National (Overseas) status holder, can apply, for free, to have their NRPF condition lifted by making a ‘change of condition’ application if they are destitute or at risk of destitution, if the welfare of their child is at risk due to their low income, or where there are other exceptional financial circumstances.
For those on other routes, we remain clear that councils and partners should exhaust all options within the law to support those who are unable to access statutory homelessness assistance as a result of their immigration status and to ensure everyone has a route off the street, including those with a NRPF condition.
Those who have no recourse to public funds due to not having a lawful immigration status, should seek to regularise their stay or leave the UK. The Voluntary Returns Service offers practical support for most foreign nationals who have decided they want to return home.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
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 collecting disaggregated data on incidents of domestic violence by (a) ethnicity of the complainant, (b) immigration status of the complainant and (c) police recorded outcome.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
This Government is committed to supporting all victims of domestic abuse. Our landmark Domestic Abuse Act will strengthen our protection to victims and ensure perpetrators feel the full force of the law. It includes the first legal definition of domestic abuse, improved support for victims in the courts, new offences and strengthened legislation around cruel acts of controlling or coercive behaviour.
The definition of domestic abuse included in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 is universally applicable and the Act’s provisions apply to all victims of domestic abuse, regardless of age, ethnic background, immigration status, and should offer greater protections for especially vulnerable individuals.
The Home Office collects data on outcomes assigned to domestic abuse-related offences recorded by the police. These data are published annually by the Office for National Statistics in their articles on domestic abuse. Data for 2020/21 can be found here: Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk).
The Home Office has begun collecting data on the ethnicity of victims of all crime from 1 April this year and these data will be published in due course. Information on the immigration status of the complainant of domestic abuse-related offences are not collected centrally.
Collecting data allows us to better monitor the prevalence of domestic abuse amongst different groups and further integrate a diverse range of victim experiences into conversations and policy decisions around domestic abuse.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the report by Hibiscus Initiatives and others, entitled Tackling double disadvantage, published on 22 January 2022.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The recommendations included in the "Tackling Double Disadvantage” report are being considered by the Female Offender Minority Ethnic working group established by the Ministry of Justice.
Collecting data allows us to monitor the prevalence of violence against women and girls amongst different groups and further integrate a diverse range of victim experiences into conversations and policy decisions. The Home Office is committed to establishing a data collection on offences where the crime has been motivated by a hostility to the victim’s sex, with discussions with police forces ongoing. A voluntary collection on the ethnicity of victims of all crime began on 1st April this year. Together, these collections will allow us to assess gender-based violence by ethnicity.
The Home Office does not collect information on whether a victim or perpetrator of crime was a migrant or not.
In July 2021, we published our cross-Government Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy and on 30th March published the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan. For the first time, our Strategy and Plan were shaped by the public’s views – we ran a national Call for Evidence on Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls which received an unprecedented 180,000 responses. We actively sought input from underrepresented groups and held focus groups to ensure that we heard the perspectives of people from ethnic minority backgrounds and refugee and migrant women expert service providers. In the Tackling VAWG Strategy, we committed to working with the Office for National Statistics to review current available data on violence against women and girls and identify the priorities for data improvement.
The report states its aim to improve outcomes and reduce inequalities for ethnic minority and migrant women in contact with the criminal justice system. We agree it is vital that police officers and criminal justice staff have the right competences and values, and an understanding, especially when dealing with the most vulnerable in our society. The College of Policing’s foundation training for all those entering the service includes substantial coverage of police ethics and self-understanding, including the effects of personal conscious and unconscious bias. The initial training undertaken by all officers also covers hate crimes, ethics and equalities, and policing without bias. In addition, the College of Policing have developed specialist domestic abuse training, the Domestic Abuse Matters programme, which has been, or is in the process of being delivered for, the majority of forces (32 Home Office forces have either completed the training, are currently in process of, or are mobilising). The first responders training makes covers dealing with the specific vulnerabilities of different victims.
The new full-time National Policing Lead for Violence Against Women and Girls, DCC Maggie Blyth, has included building trust and confidence as a key pillar of the Policing VAWG National Framework for delivery. This includes working with charities supporting ethnic minority and migrant women and girls to avoid their specific needs being overlooked.