Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2024 to Question 9238 on Immigration: Detainees, whether the Adults at Risk review will consider the (a) Immigration (Guidance on Detention of Vulnerable Persons) Regulations 2024 and (b) findings and recommendations of the Brook House Inquiry.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The scope of the Adults at Risk review includes the Immigration (Guidance on Detention of Vulnerable Persons) Regulations 2024.
The review forms part of the response to one of the recommendations of the Brook House Inquiry (Recommendation 9: Review of the operation of Rule 35 of the Detention Centre Rules 2001). The review will not cover all areas of the Brook House Inquiry and will not reassess the findings and recommendations made.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister of State in her Department in debate on the Immigration (Guidance on Detention of Vulnerable Persons) Regulations 2024 in Grand Committee in the House of Lords on 14 October 2024, Official Report, column 17GC, what the (a) timetable is and (b) terms of reference are for the review into immigration detention.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
We intend to complete the Adults at Risk review in Spring 2025, including Rule 34 and Rule 35 of the detention centre rules.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) cost efficiency of alternative to detention pilot projects operated by her Department; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing further pilots for (i) women, (ii) LGBTQI+ people and (iii) other people likely to be vulnerable in detention.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Department will keep under review the feasibility of alternative to detention pilots, taking account of effectiveness and cost efficiency, as part of our plans to transform the asylum and returns system.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that separated displaced Ukrainian families will be able to reunite with their relatives in the UK on the (a) Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship scheme and (b) Ukraine Permission Extension scheme.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The UK’s Ukraine schemes are not family reunification pathways. The schemes are designed to provide temporary sanctuary in the UK for Ukrainian’s fleeing the war.
The Homes for Ukraine scheme remains open for new applications from those wishing to come to the UK. Ukrainian nationals who would have qualified under the Ukraine Family Scheme will still be able to apply under Homes for Ukraine. Family members wishing to join a relative who is already in the UK may make an application to the Homes for Ukraine scheme provided they have a sponsor who meets the eligibility requirements for sponsorship. Ukrainians may also apply through standard visa or family routes, if they are eligible.
From early 2025, the new Ukraine Permission Extension scheme is due to open to those who fled Ukraine because of Russia’s invasion and were granted a Ukraine scheme visa as well as those granted Leave Outside the Rules for the same reason.
We keep all of our Ukraine schemes under consistent review in line with developments in the ongoing war.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact on family reunion pathways for separated displaced Ukrainian families of (a) closure of the Ukraine Family Scheme and (b) changes in sponsor eligibility criteria on the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship scheme.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The UK’s Ukraine schemes are not family reunification pathways. The schemes are designed to provide temporary sanctuary in the UK for Ukrainian’s fleeing the war.
The Homes for Ukraine scheme remains open for new applications from those wishing to come to the UK. Ukrainian nationals who would have qualified under the Ukraine Family Scheme will still be able to apply under Homes for Ukraine. Family members wishing to join a relative who is already in the UK may make an application to the Homes for Ukraine scheme provided they have a sponsor who meets the eligibility requirements for sponsorship. Ukrainians may also apply through standard visa or family routes, if they are eligible.
From early 2025, the new Ukraine Permission Extension scheme is due to open to those who fled Ukraine because of Russia’s invasion and were granted a Ukraine scheme visa as well as those granted Leave Outside the Rules for the same reason.
We keep all of our Ukraine schemes under consistent review in line with developments in the ongoing war.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of sections 22-29 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 on victims of modern slavery receiving support via the National Referral Mechanism.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson
The Home Office published the Illegal Migration Bill (IMB) Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) on 10 May 2023. We are committed to taking the steps to ensure any potential impacts identified are appropriately mitigated when implementing the policy.
Where an individual has not made a protection claim and is granted immigration bail, support may be available under Schedule 10 of the Immigration Act 2016.
The Government is consulting with operational partners to implement sections 22 – 29 of the IMA. Guidance is under development which will support the operation of provisions in the IMA, once commenced.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will publish assessments of facilities that will accommodate potential victims of modern slavery ineligible for support under the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson
The Home Office published the Illegal Migration Bill (IMB) Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) on 10 May 2023. We are committed to taking the steps to ensure any potential impacts identified are appropriately mitigated when implementing the policy.
Where an individual has not made a protection claim and is granted immigration bail, support may be available under Schedule 10 of the Immigration Act 2016.
The Government is consulting with operational partners to implement sections 22 – 29 of the IMA. Guidance is under development which will support the operation of provisions in the IMA, once commenced.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his planned timetable is for the implementation of sections 22-29 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson
The Home Office published the Illegal Migration Bill (IMB) Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) on 10 May 2023. We are committed to taking the steps to ensure any potential impacts identified are appropriately mitigated when implementing the policy.
Where an individual has not made a protection claim and is granted immigration bail, support may be available under Schedule 10 of the Immigration Act 2016.
The Government is consulting with operational partners to implement sections 22 – 29 of the IMA. Guidance is under development which will support the operation of provisions in the IMA, once commenced.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will consult with service providers for the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract to ensure that implementation of sections 22-29 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 will be trauma informed.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson
The Home Office published the Illegal Migration Bill (IMB) Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) on 10 May 2023. We are committed to taking the steps to ensure any potential impacts identified are appropriately mitigated when implementing the policy.
Where an individual has not made a protection claim and is granted immigration bail, support may be available under Schedule 10 of the Immigration Act 2016.
The Government is consulting with operational partners to implement sections 22 – 29 of the IMA. Guidance is under development which will support the operation of provisions in the IMA, once commenced.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of people under the age of 18 who have been referred into the national referral mechanism since July 2023 and who would be eligible to have their modern slavery support removed once they reach the age of 18 were sections 22 to 29 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 enacted.
Answered by Laura Farris
The modern slavery provisions in the Illegal Migration Act 2023 (“the 2023 Act”) address the serious and immediate threat to public order arising from the exceptional circumstances around illegal entry into the UK.
The Public Order Disqualification in the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) was included in section 63 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. Section 29 of the 2023 Act amends section 63 of the Nationality and Borders Act, expanding the cohort of individuals to whom the Public Order Disqualification applies. The 2023 Act also introduces, in sections 22-28, disqualifications from the NRM for those who are subject to the duty in section 2 of that Act, unless certain specific exemptions apply.
The Government is working on developing guidance regarding the operation of these measures which will be published when the provisions are implemented.
The published Illegal Migration Bill Impact Assessment sets out the monetised and non-monetised impacts of the legislation. The Impact Assessment did not produce monetised estimates of the number of individuals who would be in scope to have their support removed if sections 22 to 29 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 were enacted. As such, it did not produce monetised estimates for: potential victims of slavery supported under the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract; individuals under the age of 18 who have been referred into the NRM since July 2023; or potential victims referred into the NRM. The Home Office is monitoring and evaluating the 2023 Act to monitor whether the measures introduced are meeting the objectives set and to provide insight on the process, impact and value for money of changes implemented.