Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will set student immigration quotas which do not restrict the ability of international students to stay in the UK.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
There are no caps on the number of international students permitted to come to the UK. The Student route is not a route to settlement. There are currently no plans to change this.
Upon course completion, students may apply to extend their leave in the UK, including under work routes if relevant requirements are met.
We keep all our immigration policies under constant review to ensure they best serve the UK and reflect the public’s priorities.
Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the report by the Migration Advisory Committee entitled Rapid review of the graduate route, published in May 2024; and whether he plans to implement each of the recommendations in full.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The Migration Advisory Committee's review’s findings are currently being considered very closely. The Government will respond to the MAC’s recommendations in due course.
Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make it his policy to maintain routes to enable international students to (a) study and (b) make an economic contribution to the UK.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The Migration Advisory Committee's review’s findings are currently being considered very closely. The Government will respond to the MAC’s recommendations in due course.
Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has a mechanism by which to review magistrates' decisions following arrests by the police.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The Home Office does not have any jurisdiction over the decision making of the independent judiciary. However, if my Hon Friend wishes to raise any points of law that may lead to an appeal, the Minister of State for Courts and Justice is happy to work with him on how this may be taken up with the Attorney General.
Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will introduce legislation to enable Ministers to make one-off changes to (a) pubs and (b) other licensed premises' opening hours for special events.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The Licensing Act 2003 already allows the Home Secretary to make legislation for blanket relaxations of licensing hours for “an occasion of exceptional international, national, or local significance”.
The Government continues to keep the Licensing Act 2003 under review and works closely with licensing practitioners to ensure the regime remains fit for purpose and meets emerging challenges.
Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to initiate public information announcements across appropriate media warning of the danger of walking or playing on ice over waterways and ponds.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The Home Office is not responsible for water safety.
Fire and Rescue Services may make local decisions to publish water safety information according to local circumstances or need.
Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
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 launching an urgent inquiry into the death of animals in establishments licensed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 as a result of failure to provide adequate food or water, as set out in the Animals in Science Regulation Unit’s annual reports for 2019-2021.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The Government continues to be committed to assuring that animals used in science are protected by the legal framework.
The Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU) has published its compliance framework which identifies and investigates potential incidents of non-compliance and decides on appropriate and proportionate measures and remedies to minimise the risk of recurrence.
All cases of non-compliance during 2019 to 2021 have been thoroughly investigated and the outcomes have been published in ASRU’s annual report.
Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were waiting for the issue of a passport (a) in each of the last 12 months for which data are available and (b) in each month in 2019.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Since April 2021, people have been advised to allow up to ten weeks when applying for their British passport as more than 5 million people delayed applying due to the pandemic. The vast majority of all passport applications continue to be dealt with well within 10 weeks.
Her Majesty’s Passport Office carries work in progress across the year as part of normal operational planning, and approximately 250,000 passport applications are being processed each week.
Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Rwanda policy for asylum seekers, whether the Government provides funding to Care4Calais; what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the recent comments made by Care4Calais on her Rwanda policy for asylum seekers; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
There is no record of Care4Calais as a grant recipient for the Home Office.
There is a global migration crisis, and we must look to new world leading solutions to tackle this issue. We are fully committed to the Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda. It fully complies with international and national law and we will defend it robustly.
Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many complaints have been received by the Metropolitan Police concerning the activities of the (a) Government Whips Office and (b) Opposition Whips Office in the House of Commons over the last four weeks; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Home Office does not hold information on the number of complaints received by the Metropolitan Police concerning the activities of the Government Whips Office or the Opposition Whips Office in the House of Commons.