Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Labour - Canterbury)
Question to the Home Office:
What steps the Government is taking to protect asylum seekers housed at Napier Barracks, Folkestone, from covid-19 infection.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
We take the welfare of asylum seekers extremely seriously and accommodation at Napier Barracks was configured in accordance with public health advice with a range of infection control measures in place. Despite our best efforts a number of those accommodated at the site have tested positive for coronavirus and an outbreak management plan was put in place.
Following the serious disturbance caused by some asylum seekers on site recently, immediate steps were taken to reconfigure accommodation to maintain outbreak management and allow for self-isolation of all those remaining on site.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Labour - Canterbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the supply of personal protective equipment for UK Border Force staff.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Border Force has a command structure and is actively working with Regional Teams and the National Operations HQ, to determine PPE needs for frontline and operational support staff, and to manage stock levels. Demand for PPE has increased so we are sourcing it through our established suppliers and supplementing with additional external suppliers to meet the demand.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Labour - Canterbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of providing financial support to Business Crime Reduction Partnerships whose funding has been reduced as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Provisional data from police forces in England and Wales shows a reduction in crime during the Coronavirus outbreak and, as a result, the Government has made no assessment of the potential merits of providing financial support to Business Crime Reduction Partnerships as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Labour - Canterbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of developing a secure digital death certification service.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office continues to work with Department of Health and Social Care on taking forward the death certification reforms, which includes consideration of digital services.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Labour - Canterbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government plans to exclude (a) dentists and (b) dental nurses from the cap on Tier 2 visas.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
On 6 July 2018, an Immigration Rules change to the Tier 2 (General) cap came into effect, to address particular pressures facing the NHS.
This change exempted doctors and nurses from the cap and freed up more spaces for other sponsored high-skilled occupations, including dentists. Since this exemption, no dentist has been refused a Tier 2 (General) place and the cap has not been breached. There are no current plans to make further changes to the operation of the Tier 2 cap within the current immigration system.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Labour - Canterbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of developing a secure digital death certification service.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Home Office is working with the Department of Health and Social Care on taking forward the death certification reforms.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Labour - Canterbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department will continue to provide funding to the National Business Crime Centre; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Ministers are yet to take a decision regarding the award of allocations from the PTF for 2019/2020.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Labour - Canterbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to tackle (a) retail crime and (b) violence against shopworkers; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
All forms of retail crime are unacceptable, and everyone has the right to feel safe at work.
I chair the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) which brings together partners including the police, trade bodies – including the Associ-ation of Convenience Stores - and retailers and is overseeing a range of work to tackle retail crime. This includes the collation and dissemination of good practice and developing guidance on the use of Impact Statements for Business, which give victims of business crime the opportunity to set out the impact the crime has had on the business, including, for example, financial loss. The NRCSG also continues to work with retailers to improve the management and response to shop theft using a partnership approach according to local circumstances.
On 21 January I announced that we will launch a call for evidence on violence and abuse towards shop workers to strengthen our understanding of this issue, including how existing legislation is being applied.
In addition, the Sentencing Council is reviewing its guidelines on assault and a consultation on a revised guideline is anticipated to commence this Summer.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Labour - Canterbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if the Government will seek to ensure children from EEA countries living in the UK will be able to secure settled status that on the same terms as children from EU countries after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Government announced on 20 December that the UK has reached a separation agreement with the European Economic Area (EEA) Economic Free Trade Area (EFTA) countries which covers citizens’ rights and broadly mirrors in that respect the Withdrawal Agreement reached with the European Union. The separation agreement protects the rights of approximately 15,000 EEA EFTA nationals living in the UK and 17,000 UK nationals living in the EEA EFTA countries.
EEA EFTA nationals, including children, who want to stay beyond the end of the planned implementation period will be able to apply to the UK’s Settlement Scheme in the same way as EU citizens from 30 March 2019.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Labour - Canterbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the equity of the £18,600 minimum income requirement for spousal visas where the potential income of the incoming spouse would enable a family to meet that threshold.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Supreme Court has upheld the lawfulness of the minimum income requirement for spouse visas, which prevents burdens on the taxpayer and promotes integration. The Supreme Court agreed that it strikes a fair balance between the interests of those wishing to sponsor a spouse to settle in the UK and of the community in general.
The earning potential of the non-EEA national partner is no guarantee that they will find work in the UK. Those with an appropriate job offer here can apply under Tier 2 of the Points Based System. However, in cases in which there are exceptional circumstances which could require entry to the UK to be granted, the applicant and their partner may be permitted to rely on other sources of income, which can include the potential income of the spouse or partner.