Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and Kinross-shire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the cost to the public purse of immigration detention (a) in total, (b) per person detained and (c) by detention centre in the 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The total amount spent on immigration detention in the 2024/25 financial year will be published in the Home Office annual report and accounts in 2025.
The Home Office does not publish the costs associated with each Immigration Removal centre as this is commercially sensitive.
Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and Kinross-shire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of implementing the recommendations of the 14th Report of Session 2017-19 of the Home Affairs Select Committee, Immigration detention, HC 913, published on 21 March 2019.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
No recent review of this report has taken place. However, the Government is committed to tackling irregular migration and strengthening border security. We are maximising efforts to establish a system that is better controlled and managed by increasing enforcement capabilities and returns, whilst operating a detention estate with appropriate safeguards in place.
Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and Kinross-shire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of increasing the immigration detention estate by 290 places.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not comment on service provider procurement exercises, which are commercially sensitive. However, contracts are published upon the Contracts Finder website, once awarded. The Home Office is committed to ensuring value for money on all IRC sites.
Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and Kinross-shire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to repeal Part II of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (Amendment of List of Safe States) Regulations 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (Amendment of List of Safe States) Regulations 2024 amended Section 80AA of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (as inserted by section 59 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023).
The provisions in the Illegal Migration Act 2023 that use the Section 80AA list are not yet commenced. Therefore, at present, S80AA has no effect in practice. The Government is considering all options relating to the Illegal Migration Act and its implementation, and will set out more details in due course.
Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and Kinross-shire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to withdraw Georgia from the list of safe states as defined in immigration legislation.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
Section 80AA of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (as amended and inserted by section 59 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023) provides for a list of generally safe states for whom asylum and human rights claims would be declared inadmissible; Georgia was added to that list by regulations.
Our current assessment of the situation in Georgia is set out in the relevant Country Policy and Information Notes, which are available on the gov.uk website.
We will continue to monitor the situation, working closely with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Should we consider that Georgia – or any other designated state – no longer meets the relevant criteria, we would ask Parliament to make the necessary amendments to the list.
Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and Kinross-shire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to publish further information on the potential further extension of visas for people unable to leave the UK to travel home after 31 July 2020.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The latest information in respect of advice for visa holders can be found on GOV.UK at: www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-uk-visa-applicants-and-temporary-uk-residents. This is kept under review.
The Home Office has put in place a range of measures to support those affected by the covid-19 outbreak. We recognise further adjustments are likely to be required to cater for all scenarios, and we are working through these, to ensure people are not unduly affected by circumstances beyond their control.
Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and Kinross-shire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what visa requirements will apply after the transition period for individuals from other European countries wishing to volunteer for a period of one to two years in the UK.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Under the current Immigration Rules, there are a range of routes for specialist activities, including temporary charity workers.
There are no current plans to change these routes, though from January 2021, these routes will be opened to EEA and Swiss citizens.
Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and Kinross-shire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2015 to Question 225163, on asylum, how many further submissions were made in (a) East Midlands, (b) London, (c) Northern Ireland, (d) North East England, (e) North West England, (f) Scotland, (g) Wales, (h) West Midlands and (i) Yorkshire and the Humber in each year from 2008 to 2014.
Answered by James Brokenshire
Regional data is not captured at the point of application.
Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and Kinross-shire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2015 to Question 225191, on asylum, how many grants on (a) protection and (b) non-protection grounds her Department made in (i) England, (ii) Northern Ireland, (iii) Scotland and (iv) Wales in each year from 2008 to 2014.
Answered by James Brokenshire
Regional data is not captured at the point of application.
Asked by: Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party - Perth and Kinross-shire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) financial and (b) equality impact assessment has been undertaken of the forthcoming changes to the Immigration Rules announced on 13 January 2015 that will require further submissions by post-2007 refused asylum applicants to be made in person at her Department's office in Liverpool.
Answered by James Brokenshire
The further submissions process applies only to failed asylum seekers whose claims have already been carefully considered by UK Visas and Immigration, and their cases examined and found by the independent courts not to need protection or have any other
basis to stay in the UK. Those who choose to make further submissions have usually been in the UK for at least six months and will have had access to free legal advice throughout the asylum process.
The changes we are making will bring post-2007 further submissions cases in line with pre-2007 cases by requiring all applications to be lodged in person, in Liverpool, unless there are exceptional circumstances. This will improve customer service and enable decisions on further submissions to be taken within five working days in most cases. Those who are recognised as refugees or found to be otherwise eligible for leave to remain in the UK will therefore be granted leave more quickly under the new arrangements.
Those whose applications are rejected will be expected to leave the UK and in most cases will not be eligible for asylum support. Tax payers should not be expected to support migrants who have failed to establish a right to remain in the UK and the changes we are making will result in substantial financial savings to asylum support costs.
A full equality impact assessment was undertaken in advance of the changes. Extension of the existing process to more recent cases has been deferred for a short period to allow for discussion of concerns raised by Liverpool City Council but when we implement we expect to publish the Policy Equality Statement along with the revised policy.