Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of detaining asylum seekers that have experienced torture on their mental health.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The Home Office takes the welfare and safety of people in its care very seriously and we are committed to ensuring the proper protection and treatment of vulnerable people in detention.
The Home Office recognises that some groups of people can be at particular risk of harm in immigration detention. This is the basis of the Adults at Risk in Immigration Detention policy. In accordance with the policy, people considered to be vulnerable, including those suffering from serious mental health conditions and victims of torture, are detained only when the risk factors in their case are outweighed by the immigration considerations.
People entering detention have a medical screening undertaken by a nurse within two hours of their arrival at an Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) which seeks to identify any immediate or long-term healthcare risks. Subject to them providing consent, everyone detained in an IRC is also given an appointment with a doctor for a physical and mental examination which takes place within 24 hours of their arrival at the IRC.
Everyone in detention also has access to a complete range of medical care throughout their period in an IRC including primary care, dentistry, substance misuse treatment services, mental health care and welfare services. Depending on the outcomes of the reception screening and the doctor’s appointment, clinical pathways into other healthcare services such as mental health or welfare services may be initiated.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the commencement of detention operations undertaken by his Department following the passage of the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024 on levels of contact with people whose asylum claims have been deemed inadmissible.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The Home Office routinely monitors levels of compliance for individuals who are required to report as a condition of their bail. We have a range of interventions available to us to maintain contact, including face to face reporting, contact by telephone, digital reporting and notifications from the accommodation providers where they reside.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the judgment of HR & Ors, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWHC 786 (Admin) of 11 April 2024, whether it his policy to (a) develop a referral process to allow eligible parents and their immediate family members to be resettled under pathway one of the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme and (b) begin to accept referrals under that route in the first half of 2024.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
I can confirm that it is our intention, as was made clear through the judgment referenced, to establish a route for those evacuated from Afghanistan under Pathway 1 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme without their immediate family members to be reunited in the UK. We remain on track to open the route for referrals in the first half of this year. Further details will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much his Department has spent on costs associated with (a) AAA and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, [2022] HWHC 3230 (Admin), for which judgment was passed on 19 December 2022, (b) AAA and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department, [2023] EWCA Civ 745, for which judgment was passed on 29 June 2023, (c) R (on the application of AAA and others) v Secretary of State for the Home Department, [2023] UKSC 42 on appeal from [2023] EWCA Civ 745, for which judgment was passed on 15 November 2023 and (d) other court cases relating to individual appeals against removal to Rwanda.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The most recently published information which includes legal fees is the National Audit Office Report which can be found here: Investigation into the costs of the UK-Rwanda Partnership - NAO report.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people from Gaza have arrived in the UK following a successful application for a family visa as a (a) spouse, (b) partner, (c) fiancé, (d) child, (e) parent, (f) relative providing care of a British citizen, (g) settled resident and (h) person with protection status since 7 October 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The number of people in Gaza who are awaiting results of applications for family visas does not form part of any current transparency data or migration statistics and is not published.
Transparency data is however published quarterly on Gov.uk and includes data on the outcomes of visas issued on family routes, although this does not necessarily equate to entering the UK once granted leave.
The latest transparency data can be found at: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people in Gaza are awaiting results of applications for family visas as a (a) spouse, (b) partner, (c) fiancé, (d) child, (e) parent, (f) relative providing care of a British citizen, (g) settled resident and (h) person with protection status who applied (i) on or (ii) before 7 October 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The number of people in Gaza who are awaiting results of applications for family visas does not form part of any current transparency data or migration statistics and is not published.
Transparency data is however published quarterly on Gov.uk and includes data on the outcomes of visas issued on family routes, although this does not necessarily equate to entering the UK once granted leave.
The latest transparency data can be found at: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications to the Windrush Compensation Scheme have been denied in each quarter since the scheme was launched.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Information relating to the number of Windrush Compensation Scheme claim outcomes which have either been rejected on the grounds of eligibility as they do not quality for consideration under the Scheme, or found to have zero entitlement to compensation following a full consideration, is included in Windrush Compensation Scheme Transparency Data which is published regularly. The latest published data, covering the period up to November 2023, is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/windrush-compensation-scheme-data-november-2023. The relevant page is WCS_04.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help provide reassurances to Sikhs on their (a) safety and (b) security in the context of recent steps taken by the Indian Government.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Hatred towards Sikhs is completely abhorrent and has no place in our society. No one should ever be a victim of hatred because of their race or religion and the Government continues to work with police and community partners to monitor and combat it.
More broadly, we continue to look at tackling all forms of religious hatred. The department is currently seeking the views and perspectives of domestic and international experts in this field to explore how religious hatred is experienced by British communities today. This work will include anti-Sikh hatred
In 2023/24, the Home Office is providing up to £50.9 million to protect faith communities. This includes £18 million through the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant, £29.4 million through the new Protective Security for Mosques scheme and a scheme for Muslim faith schools, and £3.5 million for the places of worship of other (non-Muslim and non-Jewish) faiths.
The Places of Worship Protective Security Funding (PoW) 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 (non-Muslim and non-Jewish) faiths that are particularly vulnerable to religiously or racially motivated hate crime in England and Wales.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 18 October 2023 to Question 200418 on Child Sexual Abuse Independent Panel Inquiry, when he plans to update Parliament on progress in implementing the recommendations in the Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, HC 720, published in October 2022.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
The Government is driving forward work to deliver on the recommendations from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse including by committing to introduce a new mandatory reporting duty in the Criminal Justice Bill, passing the Online Safety Act, and consulting on changes to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.
The Home Secretary will provide a full update to Parliament on progress against all of the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse early in the new year.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress her Department has made on implementing the recommendations in the report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, published in October 2022.
Answered by Sarah Dines
The Government is continuing to drive forward commitments made in our response to the Independent Inquiry, published in May. We are making good progress, including recently concluding the mandatory reporting call for evidence. We will continue to engage with stakeholders and victims and survivors to ensure we are using all levers we can to tackle this horrific crime. The Home Secretary has also committed to providing an update on progress to Parliament in November.