To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.


Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
Refugees: Afghanistan
Monday 23rd October 2023

Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of people from Afghanistan who were resettled to the UK under the (a) ARAP and (b) ACRS were in bridging accommodation when her Department (i) announced that it would begin to issue and (ii) began to issue notices to quit.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

Our recent release of transparency data, published on 19 September 2023, following the end of hotels being used as bridging accommodation can be accessed at Afghan bridging hotel exit operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The latest statistics (published on 24th August 2023) from the immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) provides a quarterly breakdown of the number of individuals resettled under both the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) in temporary accommodation up until the end of June 2023. For detailed data, see table Asy D02.

From the end of April 2023, resettled Afghan families staying in hotels and serviced apartments began to receive Notices to Quit their bridging accommodation. Residents received at least three months' notice to make arrangements to leave their hotel or serviced accommodation and were given clear guidance on the support they could access to help them find their own accommodation.

Despite all efforts, some families have been unable to find their own accommodation or unwilling to take up offers of housing and have needed to present as homeless. The statutory homelessness system provides a safety net, and no family will be left without a roof over their head.

We are unable to provide a running commentary on bridging accommodation occupation. When the notices to quit were announced by the Minister for Veterans' Affairs on 28 March, there were over 8,000 Afghans living in bridging accommodation.


Written Question
Public Sector: Northern Ireland
Wednesday 6th September 2023

Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of funding for the delivery of public services in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)

This Government has given £7 billion in additional funding to NI since 2014 on top of the Barnett-based block grant.

Budget allocations for Northern Ireland departments have been determined with the objective of protecting front-line services.

Funding alone will not solve the systemic issues facing public services in Northern Ireland - these must be addressed by a restored Executive.


Written Question
Illegal Migration Bill
Tuesday 27th June 2023

Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the compatibility of the Illegal Migration Bill with international humanitarian law.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The Government takes its international obligations very seriously. There is nothing in the Bill that requires the Government to act incompatibly with our international obligations.

The Home Secretary and I have had regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues about the Bill.


Written Question
Independent Case Examiner
Wednesday 19th April 2023

Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Independent Case Examiner is taking steps to reduce the time between a complaint being accepted and the allocation of that complaint to an investigator.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The ICE process has several stages. When a referral is received the team initially considers whether, without undertaking a detailed examination of the evidence, a resolution can be brokered with the relevant department or its supplier. If resolution cannot be achieved, and the complaint is accepted, the case awaits allocation to an investigator who, following a review of the evidence, will first consider if settlement is appropriate. This requires the relevant department or its supplier to agree action with the complainant. Full investigation reports of detailed findings and any recommendations for redress are based on a thorough examination of case evidence.

The ICE office continues to review its internal processes and structures to make the most efficient use of its investigative resource. Between 1 April 2022 – 31 March 2023, the office has recruited an additional 18 Investigators and is seeking to recruit up to its agreed headcount.


Written Question
Carer's Allowance
Thursday 2nd February 2023

Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of enabling the Carer’s Allowance to be treated as earnings for the work allowance element of the calculation of Universal Credit.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

There are no plans to change the way that Carer’s Allowance is treated in Universal Credit.

In recognition of the support provided by carers for relatives, partners and friends who may be ill, frail or disabled, there is an additional amount of benefit payable in Universal Credit to support carers who provide care of 35 hours or more each week for a severely disabled person. For claimants who meets these requirements an additional amount for caring, £168.81 per month, is included in their Universal Credit entitlement.

Carer’s Allowance is a benefit paid by the State and so is classed as unearned income.


Written Question
Ukraine: War Crimes
Tuesday 31st January 2023

Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps he has taken with his international counterparts to help support the (a) Ukrainian government and (b) International Criminal Court with (i) investigations and (ii) prosecutions of alleged war crimes in Ukraine.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The UK has provided a £2.5 million package to support Ukraine’s domestic investigations and an additional £1 million of funding for the International Criminal Court (ICC). My Rt Hon Friend, the Deputy Prime Minister will host an International Conference in March in support of the ICC investigation. The UK is committed to securing accountability for atrocities committed in Ukraine.


Written Question
Visas: Turkey
Tuesday 3rd January 2023

Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of processing times for Turkish Businessperson visa extension applications.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The latest data on ECAA matters is routinely published as part of UKVI Transparency data.

The most recent published data for outstanding ECCA applications can be found here: Visas and Citizenship data: Q3 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Under Visas and Citizenship Data, Tab VSI_03 includes the number of straightforward applications and non-straightforward applications which remained outstanding at the end of the last reported period.

The Home Office had been prioritising Ukraine Visa Scheme applications in response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has impacted on the delivery of some of our service standards. Resource has now been restored to the ECAA team.


Written Question
Visas: Turkey
Tuesday 3rd January 2023

Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the processing times for Turkish Businessperson visa extension applications.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The latest data on ECAA matters is routinely published as part of UKVI Transparency data.

The most recent published data for outstanding ECCA applications can be found here: Visas and Citizenship data: Q3 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Under Visas and Citizenship Data, Tab VSI_03 includes the number of straightforward applications and non-straightforward applications which remained outstanding at the end of the last reported period.

The Home Office had been prioritising Ukraine Visa Scheme applications in response to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, which has impacted on the delivery of some of our service standards.

Full resource has now been restored to the team.


Written Question
Visas: Turkey
Tuesday 3rd January 2023

Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average processing time is for Turkish Businessperson visa extension applications.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The latest data on ECAA matters is routinely published as part of UKVI Transparency data.

The most recent published data for outstanding ECCA applications can be found here: Visas and Citizenship data: Q3 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Under Visas and Citizenship Data, Tab VSI_03 includes the number of straightforward applications and non-straightforward applications which remained outstanding at the end of the last reported period.

The Home Office had been prioritising Ukraine Visa Scheme applications in response to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, which has impacted on the delivery of some of our service standards.

Full resource has now been restored to the team.


Written Question
Asylum: Standards
Wednesday 21st December 2022

Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the asylum transformation programme includes a commitment to reinstate the 6-month service standard for decisions on all straightforward asylum applications.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

A new accelerated service standard is being developed and we are testing the impact of several coordinated initiatives, including enhanced screening, case triage, centralised workflow and streamlined decision templates, in order to improve productivity and increase decision rates.

To accelerate decision making we are simplifying and modernising our system. This includes measures like shortening interviews, removing unnecessary interviews, making guidance simpler and more accessible, dealing with cases more swiftly where they can be certified as manifestly unfounded and extra decision makers.