Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how people arriving in the UK by small boat and who are then taken into custody by the Home Office are able to raise concerns about the whereabouts of their possessions.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
We operate a comprehensive complaints system for detained individuals who feel that they have not been treated in accordance with our standards, which includes raising concerns about the whereabouts of their possessions. Detained individuals may raise a concern about the whereabouts of their possessions with on-site staff at Manston, or through the Home Office’s published complaints process.
We take complaints made by detained individuals very seriously, ensuring that they are investigated thoroughly and in a timely manner. Complaints that relate to detained individuals are investigated in accordance with published guidance; Detention Service Order 03/2015 handling complaints, which is available on the Gov.uk website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/handling-complaints-in-immigration-removal-centres .
Detained individuals who submit complaints are not disadvantaged in any way in relation to their treatment while in detention, or in relation to the outcome of their immigration case. Detained persons who are not satisfied with the way in which their complaint has been handled may ask for it to be reviewed by the Independent Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.
All other complaints (outside of circumstances when a person is detained) are governed by the published Complaints Management Guidance, which includes complaints to UKVI, HMPO, IE and Border Force, which is available on the Gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-management-guidance-version-7
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she will expand qualification criteria for employing foreign summer workers to other sectors.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
It is unclear as to the immigration route or sectors to which the Honourable Member is specifically referring to. The Points Based System has a broad range of eligible occupations spanning many different economic sectors such as agri-food; travel and tourism; hospitality and creative sectors.
UK employers are able to bring in overseas workers through the immigration system, subject to the existing rules and requirements being met.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish data on the (a) number and (b) proportion of undocumented people's personal items, who arrive in the UK by small boats, that are taken into the custody of Home Office agents upon arrival that are (i) successfully returned to their owners and (ii) not returned to their owners.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
Dry clothing is provided after arrival at Dover, with the consequence that people are parted from their wet clothing and possessions. These are bagged and logged, and go with the person during their journey through the reception process.
During the reception phase, people are searched for anything which might injure themselves or others, as well as for documentation related to their journey to the UK. These items are retained during the reception process but, if not contraband, are returned to the individual upon release into accommodation and our aim is to reunite people with their possessions as quickly as possible. Identity documentation is retained until such time as an individual is either granted leave to enter, or is removed from the UK. It should be noted no cash belonging to people arriving by small boat is retained by either HO staff or contractors, but is instead returned immediately unless the sum is of such a magnitude that an investigation into potential proceeds of crime is warranted.
Inevitably, with such large volumes of persons being processed and the challenging conditions in which journeys are made, items can be mislaid. Every effort is made to reduce the risk of this happening, and there is a lost property process to enable people to raise any concerns about missing possessions. The lost property cases which do occur represent a small percentage of overall arrival numbers, but there are no plans to publish this data at present.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what systems are in place to keep track of the location of undocumented people who arrive in the UK by small boats’ personal items that are taken into the custody of Home Office agents upon arrival.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
Dry clothing is provided after arrival at Dover, with the consequence that people are parted from their wet clothing and possessions. These are bagged and logged, and go with the person during their journey through the reception process.
During the reception phase, people are searched for anything which might injure themselves or others, as well as for documentation related to their journey to the UK. These items are retained during the reception process but, if not contraband, are returned to the individual upon release into accommodation and our aim is to reunite people with their possessions as quickly as possible. Identity documentation is retained until such time as an individual is either granted leave to enter, or is removed from the UK. It should be noted no cash belonging to people arriving by small boat is retained by either HO staff or contractors, but is instead returned immediately unless the sum is of such a magnitude that an investigation into potential proceeds of crime is warranted.
Inevitably, with such large volumes of persons being processed and the challenging conditions in which journeys are made, items can be mislaid. Every effort is made to reduce the risk of this happening, and there is a lost property process to enable people to raise any concerns about missing possessions. The lost property cases which do occur represent a small percentage of overall arrival numbers, but there are no plans to publish this data at present.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has any plans to increase Migrant Help’s access to relevant information and data from other branches of the Home Office which may assist in its efficiency.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The Home Office currently shares all relevant data with Migrant Help in order for them to carry out their contractual requirements, through a secure portal. In addition, regular contract governance forums provide a vehicle by which Migrant Help and the Home Office can make improvements to service delivery, including improvement to data sharing.
The Home Office has no plans to alter any data sharing arrangements at this time.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what means of redress are available to undocumented people who arrive in the UK by small boats whose personal items are not returned to them after being taken into the custody of Home Office agents on arrival.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Dry clothing is provided after arrival at Dover, with the consequence people are parted from their wet clothing and possessions. These are bagged and logged, and go with the person during their journey through the reception process.
During the reception phase, people are searched for anything which might injure themselves or others as well as for documentation related to their journey to the UK. These items are retained during the reception process but, if not contraband, are returned to the individual upon release into accommodation and our aim is to reunite people with their possessions as quickly as possible. Identity documentation is retained until such time as an individual is either granted leave to enter or is removed from the UK. It should be noted no cash belonging to people arriving by small boat is retained by either HO staff or contractors, but is instead returned immediately unless the sum is of such a magnitude that an investigation into potential proceeds of crime is warranted.
Inevitably, with such large volumes of persons being processed and the challenging conditions in which journeys are made, items can be mislaid. Every effort is made to reduce the risk of this happening, and there is a lost property process to enable people to raise any concerns about missing possessions. The lost property cases which do occur represent a small percentage of overall arrival numbers, but there are no plans to publish this data at present.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to change visa rules to make it easier for international GP trainees to stay and work in the UK.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office have already delivered a range of measures to support the health and care sector. The Home Office launched the Health & Care visa in 2020, which makes it easier, cheaper, and quicker for health workers, including GPs, o be recruited.
The Government will therefore not be amending its policy on international medical graduates (IMGs) who have completed their GP training. IMGs may use the time between the end of their training and the end of their visa to apply for work, and are eligible for the skilled worker route, which includes the Health and Care Visa.
We strongly encourage more GP surgeries to become Home Office approved sponsors, as this is the best way for the sector to retain international medical graduates as GPs, providing them with the ability to continue to renew their visa while living in the UK. Sponsorship is straightforward and business-friendly, the majority of sponsors on our register are SMEs, much like GP surgeries are likely to be. The Home Office and the Department for Health and Social Care are working together to increase the number of GP Practices registered as Home Office sponsors.