Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions he has had with the Roman Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales about their ability to host for indefinite periods seconded clergy from (a) Poland and (b) other EU Member States after the UK leaves the EU; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The recently published White Paper on the future immigration system, sets out our intention to continue to attract those who bring a range of skills, including those who make valuable contributions to the enjoyment of faith and community across the UK.
In the future, there will be a single skills-based system. Under current arrangements, which we will look to build on, there are two routes available for non-EU nationals. The first, Tier 2 Ministers of Religion is for those play-ing a leading role as faith leaders in our religious institutions. The second route, Tier 5 Religious Workers is for those undertaking non-pastoral roles supporting the activities of these institutions. We are embarking on an ex-tensive programme of engagement and will be talking to representatives of a range of faith and community groups, including from the Catholic Church.
Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the timetable is for his Department to respond to it's consultation on the draft Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill; and what the timetable is for further steps to be taken in relation to that Bill.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
On 8 March we launched a 12 week public consultation on proposals for a landmark domestic abuse Bill and a supporting package of practical action to transform the response to domestic abuse. The consultation closed on 31 May. Over 3,200 responses to the consultation were received. The responses to the consultation are being considered and a draft Bill will be published later this session.
Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the timetable is for his Department to respond to it's consultation on the draft Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill; and what the timetable is for further steps to be taken in relation to that Bill.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
On 8 March we launched a 12 week public consultation on proposals for a landmark domestic abuse Bill and a supporting package of practical action to transform the response to domestic abuse. The consultation closed on 31 May. Over 3,200 responses to the consultation were received. The responses to the consultation are being considered and a draft Bill will be published later this session.
Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many settlement applications were processed by Sheffield Visa Section between May and August 2016.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The specific data requested is not published by the Home Office.
Published data on the numbers of visas processed is published online at the following address:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-operations-transparency-data-august-2017 (then listed by publication date under ‘UK Visas & Immigration’).
Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made to conclude entry clearance application GWF 043559042 lodged at post in New Delhi on 4 May 2017 and received by her Department on 9 May 2017.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
We do not routinely comment on individual cases.
Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department provides to the visa processing centre, Sheffield on the handling of visa entry clearance applications for a (a) spouse and (b) fiancé which have not been processed within 12 weeks; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
All UKVI Decision Making Centres follow the same Customer Service Standards when handling visa entry clearance applications.
Customer Service Standards for Settlement for those applying from outside the UK can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-visas-and-immigration/about-our-services
Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department provides to the visa processing centre, Sheffield on the recording of (a) courier receipts and (b) tracking data for documents relating to applications for visas for entry clearance.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
Documents relating to applications are dispatched to Sheffield by approved couriers who utilise specific tracking systems throughout the process. Where documents are sent directly to Sheffield they are recorded by staff upon receipt.
Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many settlement applications were processed by Sheffield Visa Section between May and August 2017.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The specific data requested is not published by the Home Office.
Published data on the numbers of visas processed within published service standards, is published online at the following address: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-operations-transparency-data-august-2017
Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of entry clearance applications were processed within (a) 12 and (b) 24 weeks in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The specific data requested is not published by the Home Office.
Published data on visa processing times, including the percentage of visas processed within published service standards, is published online at the following address: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data (then listed by publication date under ‘UK Visas & Immigration’).
Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time taken was to process priority entry clearance applications for a (a) spouse and (b) fiancé at visa offices in (a) New Delhi, (b) Mumbai, (c) Chennai, (d) Islamabad, (e) Dhaka and (f) Abu Dhabi in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The specific data requested is not published by the Home Office.
Published data on visa processing times, including the percentage of visas processed within published service standards, is published online at the following address: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data (then listed by publication date under ‘UK Visas & Immigration’).