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Written Question
Visas: Graduates
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason he requested that Professor Brian Bell undertake a rapid review of the Graduate route.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), led by Professor Brian Bell, has been commissioned to provide further evidence to support the Government’s understanding of how the Graduate route is operating in practice and to what extent it is supporting the original objectives.

No decisions have been made on the future of the Graduate route. We will consider evidence put forward by the MAC closely and ensure any policy proposals are subject to rigorous assessment of their impacts.


Written Question
Visas: Graduates
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the economic impact of scrapping the Graduate Route.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), led by Professor Brian Bell, has been commissioned to provide further evidence to support the Government’s understanding of how the Graduate route is operating in practice and to what extent it is supporting the original objectives.

No decisions have been made on the future of the Graduate route. We will consider evidence put forward by the MAC closely and ensure any policy proposals are subject to rigorous assessment of their impacts.


Written Question
Airports: Taiwan
Wednesday 20th March 2024

Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in Taiwan on the use of e-gates for Taiwanese nationals at UK airports.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Whilst we regularly review eGate eligibility for different passport holders, we operate the UK border, including eGate eligibility, solely in the UK interest, recognising the need to balance both passenger flow and border security.

The Government has set out an ambitious vision to create an effective and secure border system. As part of this vision, we intend to investigate options to increase the use of automation and eGates by those passport holders currently ineligible to use them.


Written Question
Police: Maternity Leave
Thursday 14th March 2024

Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of maternity leave for serving police officers in England.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) and Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) consider and make recommendations to the Government on the pay, allowances, hours of duty and leave for police officers. The Government values their independent and expert advice.

Police officers may take up to 15 months’ maternity leave. Officers who meet the relevant qualifying criteria receive full pay for 26 weeks.


Written Question

Question Link

Thursday 22nd February 2024

Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department plans to classify police officer suicide as a work-related accident.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government takes the mental health of the police workforce very seriously and we are committed to making improvements in wellbeing support for officers and staff.

Through the Police Covenant, we continue to work with policing partners to ensure those who work in policing and their families get the support and protection they need. We have already delivered pre-deployment mental health support for all new starters and established a Chief Medical Officer for policing.

Suicide is a particularly sensitive and difficult issue and usually involves a combination of many factors, which means that it is not straightforward to classify by default as a work-related incident. There is an existing system in which deaths are examined by a Coroner and a Coroner can already refer cases to the Health and Safety Executive, or other public body, if they consider there is an ongoing risk to others.

Any suicide is devastating and that is why, through the Police Covenant, we have developed a priority work stream on suicide prevention. The Home Office is also providing funding to establish and run the first year of a 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Support line for current and former members of the police workforce.


Written Question
Police: Mental Health Services
Wednesday 21st February 2024

Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support is provided to serving police officers with mental health problems.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government takes the mental health of the police workforce very seriously and we are committed to making improvements in wellbeing support for officers and staff.

Through the Police Covenant, we continue to work with policing partners to ensure those who work in policing and their families get the support and protection they need. We have already delivered pre-deployment mental health support for all new starters and established a Chief Medical Officer for policing.

Suicide is a particularly sensitive and difficult issue and usually involves a combination of many factors, which means that it is not straightforward to classify by default as a work-related incident. There is an existing system in which deaths are examined by a Coroner and a Coroner can already refer cases to the Health and Safety Executive, or other public body, if they consider there is an ongoing risk to others.

Any suicide is devastating and that is why, through the Police Covenant, we have developed a priority work stream on suicide prevention. The Home Office is also providing funding to establish and run the first year of a 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Support line for current and former members of the police workforce.


Written Question
VFS Global: Visas
Monday 22nd January 2024

Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2023 to Question 3995 on VFS Global, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the administration of the UK visa appointment system by VFS Global.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The NGOV contract, the commercial vehicle that manages the terms of service delivered by VFS, has a KPI regime to manage supplier performance. CSL5 is the KPI that measures appointment availability. This KPI is published publicly, by the Cabinet Office, on a quarterly basis.

VFS review their appointment capacity on a daily basis and open additional slots where demand is high in order to remain within service standard. The CSL5 KPI is also monitored by UKVI who conduct weekly audits on appointment availability to ensure compliance and provide feedback to VFS Global where additional capacity is required. A review of this KPI also forms part of the monthly performance calls held between UKVI and VFS Global.


Written Question
Motorcycles: Crime
Thursday 11th January 2024

Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many incidents of illegal off-road bike use were recorded by the police in Stockport in each of the last five years.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office collects and publishes data on fixed penalty notices (FPNs) and other outcomes for motoring offences in England and Wales on an annual basis, as part of the ‘Police Powers and Procedures: Other PACE’ statistical bulletin. These data are published at Police Force Area level only. The most recent data, up to 2021, is available here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1118166/fixed-penalty-notices-and-other-motoring-offences-statistics-police-powers-and-procedures-year-ending-31-december-2021.ods

However, the Home Office does not centrally collect data on incidents of illegal off-road bike use.


Written Question
Visas: China
Wednesday 20th December 2023

Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2023 to Question 5400 on Visas: China, what the average waiting time for an appointment at a UK Visa Application Centre in China was in each of the last 12 months.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The global service level is for UK visa appointments to be available within five working days. The average Visa Application Centre (VAC) appointment wait times for China for the last 12 months were:

Month

Average Wait time for China
(in days)

Dec-22

3

Jan-23

3

Feb-23

3

Mar-23

3

Apr-23

3

May-23

3

Jun-23

4

Jul-23

4

Aug-23

4

Sep-23

3

Oct-23

3

Nov-23

3


Written Question
Visas: India
Monday 18th December 2023

Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 December 2023 to Question 5402 on Visas: India, what the average wait time for a British Visa appointment was in the Republic of India for each of the last 12 months.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The global service level is for UK visa appointments to be available within five working days. The average Visa Application Centre (VAC) appointment wait times for India for the last 12 months were:

Month

Average Wait time for India
(in days)

Dec-22

4

Jan-23

3

Feb-23

4

Mar-23

4

Apr-23

4

May-23

4

Jun-23

4

Jul-23

4

Aug-23

4

Sep-23

4

Oct-23

3

Nov-23

3