Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions she has had with businesses on the Government's net zero targets.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
My colleagues and I meet regularly with business leaders and chair several groups bringing together government and industry on strategic issues relating to net zero.
This includes the Net Zero Council, with members representing leading global businesses. The Council last met just a few weeks ago.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many biometric residence permit card delays as a result of technical errors in the processing system have been reported in the last 12 months.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The information requested could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average processing time for issuing biometric residence permit cards was in the last 12 months.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
We aim to deliver a BRP within 7 working days of the immigration decision.
BRPs are produced at the secure delivery facility (Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA)) within 48 hours of the production request being made and are collected by our secure delivery partner the same day. Our secure delivery partner (Royal Mail Group) aims to attempt to deliver the BRPs within 48 hours of receipt of the BRPs. This equates to a minimum of 5 working days from date of production request being made to delivery of the BRP. We have added an additional 2 working days to the timeline advised to applicants to allow us to resolve any production issues.
During 2023, DVLA produced 99.6% of BRPs within 24 hours of the production request and 100% within 48 hours. In 2023, our Secure Delivery Partner attempted to deliver over 99% of BRPs within 48 hours.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of applications for spousal visas were sponsored by a person earning less than £38,700 in the last 12 months.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The number and proportion of applications for spousal visas which were sponsored by a person earning less than £38,700 in the last 12 months does not form part of any current transparency data or migration statistics and is not published.
The transparency data does, however, include a range of processing data and the latest data can be found at: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of health and care worker visa holders have dependents in the UK.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The Home Office publishes data on health and care worker visas in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the outcomes of health and care visa worker visa applications are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the detailed entry clearance visas dataset.
Selecting ‘Skilled Worker – Health and Care’ from the visa type subgroup filter and ‘Dependant’ from the applicant type filter will output data on the dependants of health and care worker visa holders. Nationality and time frames can also be filtered.
Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates up to the end of September 2023.
To calculate the proportion of dependants of health and care worker visa holders, divide dependents by total applicants in a given time period.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his Oral Statement of 4 December 2023, official report, column 41, what his timescale is for issuing guidance on changes to visa requirements to UK Visas and Immigration staff.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The changes announced by the Home Secretary will be introduced in the spring and internal guidance will be issued to UK Visas and Immigration staff in due course.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his oral statement of 4 December 2023 on Legal Migration, Official Report, columns 41-43, whether he plans for the T2 Minister of Religion visa to be subject to the proposed increase in the skilled worker earnings salary threshold.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The T2 Minister of Religion route does not have a salary threshold. Workers must receive pay and conditions at least equal to those given to settled workers in the same role and be compliant with, or exempt from, the national minimum wage. There are no plans to make any changes at this time.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 on access to the asylum system for Afghan people.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
There has not been an explicit assessment on the impact this has on people of Afghanistan; however, impact assessments regarding the Illegal Migration Act have been published on GOV. UK under Illegal Migration Bill: overarching documents - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the standard of proof for unsafe journeys for Afghan people.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
We published guidance called “Unable to travel to a Visa Application Centre to enrol biometrics (overseas applications)” in May 2023, which is available on Gov.UK. It sets out how we treat applicants who claim it is unsafe for them to travel to a visa application centre (VAC) to enrol their biometrics.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to give Afghan people on pathway 1 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (a) refugee and (b) humanitarian protection status for family reunion purposes.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
The government remains committed to providing protection for vulnerable and at-risk people fleeing Afghanistan. However, the situation is complex and presents significant challenges, including how those who are eligible for resettlement in the UK can leave the country. This includes eligible immediate family members of those being resettled under the ACRS.
Individuals resettled under Pathway 2 of the ACRS will be granted refugee status in the UK and will be eligible to sponsor their immediate family under the government’s refugee family reunion scheme.
Individuals resettled under Pathway 1 and 3 will not be eligible for this scheme as they will not be granted refugee status. However, they may be
eligible to apply to sponsor family members under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules. These Rules provide for a partner, dependent children and adult dependent relatives to apply to join, or stay with, a settled person in the UK.
For those evacuated from Afghanistan under ACRS P1 without their immediate family members, the Home Secretary has committed to establishing a route for separated families to be reunited. Further details will be provided in due course.