Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will hold discussions with his (a) French and (b) Spanish counterpart on the potential merits of allowing UK citizens in those countries to (a) annually renew temporary long-stay visas, (b) upload (i) photographs and (ii) other visa documents online rather than attending appointments in person and (c) store biometric data for future visa applications for a five-year period.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The UK government remains supportive of any changes EU Member States make to their domestic visa systems which benefit UK Nationals living in and travelling to the EU.
The UK government continues to engage regularly with the European Commission and EU Member States on a wide range of mobility-related issues.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has made recent representations to his (a) French and (b) Spanish counterpart on long-stay visas for UK citizens who need to spend more than 90 days within a given 180-day period in those countries.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement provides for visa-free travel for short-term visits for each other's nationals. British citizens can travel visa-free and stay for up to 90 days in a rolling 180-day period, in accordance with the Schengen Borders Code. This is the standard length of stay that the EU offers to third countries. Whilst the Government would welcome any changes to visa systems which would benefit UK nationals, this is a matter for national governments and parliaments. The Government continues to engage regularly with the European Commission and EU Member States on a range of mobility issues.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, pursuant to the Answer of 23 April 2024 to Question 22020 on Ghassan Abu Sittah, whether he has (a) received information on the reasons that Germany issued a Schengen Area wide travel ban on British-Palestinian national Dr. Abu Sittah and (b) held discussions with his (i) German and (ii) French counterpart on that matter.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We have not sought or received information from the French or German Authorities on this matter, nor held discussions with them about it.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether additional funding is available to local authorities to provide services to assist people with Universal Credit claims where those services are not available through Citizens Advice.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Help to Claim (HtC) was developed and delivered from 2019, and continues to be delivered by Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland independently across England, Scotland, and Wales. A further £38m investment is planned for HtC for two years from April 2024.
HtC provides tailored practical support to anyone who needs it and it enables individuals requiring additional support to make and maintain their UC claim, up until their first correct UC payment. HtC supports customers through telephony and digital channels (including webchat). Where somebody is unable to make a digital UC Claim they will support that person to make a UC Claim by telephone. Those individuals who are unable to access support via these channels will be signposted to their local jobcentre, where staff will identify the right support to meet their needs, face-to-face.
Since April 2019, HtC has supported nearly 900,000 people.