Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Independent - Salford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will take steps to review the cost of (a) visa and (b) citizenship application fees.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Immigration fees are set taking account of the charging powers provided by Section 68(9) of the Immigration Act 2014, which include the ability to set fees based on: the cost of processing the relevant application, the benefits and entitlements provided by a successful application and the wider costs of the Migration and Borders system. Full details can be reviewed via the following link: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/22/section/68.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Independent - Salford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department's criteria are for implementation of an emergency visa scheme for refugees fleeing war zones.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
As the Home Secretary said in her statement to the House of Commons on the 22 July 2024, the UK will always work, along with other states, to help those fleeing war and persecution.
Our global resettlement scheme, the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) is designed in way that allows us to respond in any emergency. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) can refer cases to the UK under their standard resettlement submission categories, based on people’s needs and vulnerabilities. The UNHCR is expertly placed to help the UK authorities to identify and process vulnerable refugees who would benefit from resettlement in the UK and as such, HMG does not intervene in who the UNHCR refer for resettlement to the UK.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Independent - Salford)
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 creating an emergency family reunion visa scheme for people affected by the conflict in Israel and Palestine.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Currently, those affected by the conflict in Israel and Palestine who wish to join family members in the UK can do so via the existing range of routes available.
Any application for a UK visa will be assessed against the requirements of the Immigration Rules. Immediate family members of British citizens and those settled in the UK who wish to come and live in the UK can apply under one of the existing family visa routes.
There are also routes available for dependants of those who are in the UK on a work or student route.
Individuals with protection status or settlement on a protection route may sponsor their partner or child (under 18), to join or stay with them in the UK, providing they formed part of the pre-flight family unit before the sponsor fled their country to seek protection.
When the visa application has been received consideration will be given to compelling, compassionate and exceptional circumstances.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Independent - Salford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to help asylum seekers to integrate into their local communities.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
This Government’s priority is to focus our efforts and resources to support those who most need it. As not all of those who seek asylum are found to need international protection, integration resources are available to those granted permission to stay. Under the New Plan for Immigration, the Government committed to offering an enhanced integration package for refugees arriving through safe and legal routes.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Independent - Salford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to directly consult with (a) asylum seekers and (b) refugees to understand where more integration support may be required.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
All refugees and those granted protection in the UK should be able to fully integrate into life here and become self-sufficient, providing for themselves and their families, and contributing to the economy.
Refugees (those who have been granted asylum, humanitarian protection or temporary protection under the Immigration Rules), as well as individuals on our resettlement schemes with Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) in the UK; have access to mainstream benefits and services to enable their integration; and we are working across Government to ensure these services meet the needs of refugees.
Integration support is coordinated by local authorities, who are best placed to support the needs of those resettled in their area. The Home Office provides local authorities with a core tariff of £20,520 per person to cover resettlement and integration costs for those who arrive via refugee resettlement schemes, including the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS). This tariff can be used flexibly by the local authorities to meet the integration needs of the refugees they are supporting.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Independent - Salford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the risk of homelessness for new refugees; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the move-on period before the withdrawal of Section 95 support.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
Where an individual is given notice that their asylum claim has been granted, their appeal has been allowed or their asylum claim has been refused but they have been given leave to enter or remain, the prescribed period in legislation (or ‘move on’ period’) is 28 days. There has been no change to the prescribed period. Individuals remain on asylum support, including accommodation, until the end of the 28 day period.
During this period, the Home Office provides individuals who have received a positive decision to their asylum claim with support through Migrant Help and/or their partner organisations. This includes providing advice on accessing the labour market, on applying for Universal Credit and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing. Individuals do not need to wait for their Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) to make a claim for Universal Credit and are encouraged to do so as early as possible if they require it. Messaging to individuals is being reviewed to encourage them to plan to move on from asylum support as soon as they have received their decision.
The Home Office are ensuring our cross government partners, such as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) are sighted on data to enable them to consider the impacts of increased decision making and effectively plan. Additionally, the Home Office are working with DLUHC to ensure the right asylum decision data is being shared with local authorities to enable effective planning and to lessen the impact on existing homelessness and rough sleeping pressures. Accommodation providers are also working directly with local authorities to notify them when an individual is due to have their asylum support ended.
The asylum accommodation estate is under huge strain and increasing the ‘move on’ period would exacerbate these pressures. There are no current plans to extend the period (of 28 days) for how long individuals remain on asylum support once they have had a grant of asylum. We are engaging the DWP and DLUHC to ensure individuals can move on from asylum support as smoothly as possible.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Independent - Salford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of implementing trauma-informed training specific to the experiences of asylum-seekers and refugees for staff in the public sector.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
In April 2021 a £1m spending review allocation was obtained to support the mental health and wellbeing of adult asylum seekers.
In September 2022 we contracted an external organisation of clinical psychologists, experienced in co-developing evidence-based mental health and wellbeing strategies, to explore how Trauma Informed Practice (TIP) could be embedded into asylum processes from first point of contact to asylum decision undertaken by the Home Office, whilst optimising outcomes of the process.
We prioritised far-reaching collaboration to shape recommendations. Intrinsic to this was operationalising governance structures involving internal stakeholders, health bodies, the UNHCR, Devolved Administrations, NGOs and people with lived experience of claiming asylum. We facilitated open discussion and generated informed contributions by sharing relevant information at every stage of the process with our partner group giving stakeholders opportunity to scrutinise, co-create and legitimise recommendations demonstrating objectivity and flexibility to reshape and re-frame their work in response to asylum policy changes.
This review and design phase was completed in March 2023. In April 2023 we launched the next phase of the programme, this work will continue until March 2025.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Independent - Salford)
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 taking steps with the devolved Administrations to develop a UK-wide strategy for refugee integration.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
Integration is a devolved matter.
We discussed funding arrangements with the Devolved Administrations on the recently launched Refugee Employability Programme (REP) in order to ensure refugees across the UK are supported. The REP is a new integration and employability support service to help refugees integrate into society and become self-sufficient.
We continue to engage regularly with the Devolved Administrations on a range of matters, including refugee integration, to collaborate, share best practice and discuss appropriate funding mechanisms where relevant.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Independent - Salford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to publish the next review of the asylum-support allowance.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
The Home Office annually reviews the level of the asylum support rate to assess the correct level of financial support that should be provided to meet essential living needs.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Independent - Salford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the implications for her policies of reports of potential violence towards refugees deported to Rwanda from the UK by (a) organisations or bodies under the control of the Rwandan Government and (b) other groups originating within Rwanda.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
Rwanda has an established record of welcoming asylum seekers and refugees and our assessment, as set out in the relevant Country Policy and Information Notes (CPINs), found it to be a generally safe and secure country.
The Memorandum of Understanding and associated Notes Verbales set out the support in place for individuals relocated to Rwanda and details of the oversight provided by the Joint Committee and independent Monitoring Committee.
The UK and Rwanda have a strong relationship. Working together, the Migration and Economic Development Partnership will see people who come to the UK through dangerous and illegal routes relocated to Rwanda, where they will be given the opportunity to settle and rebuild their lives.
We have always maintained that this policy is lawful, including complying with the Refugee Convention, and last year the High court upheld this. We continue to defend the policy against legal challenge.