Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what eligibility criteria will her Department apply to (a) family members and (b) dependents seeking to enter the United Kingdom via the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The eligibility criteria for family members and dependants seeking to accompany those relocating under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy are set out in paragraphs 276BE1-276BL1 of the Immigration Rules:
Immigration Rules part 7: other categories - Immigration Rules - Guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
There is additional published guidance for those family members who do not qualify under the Immigration Rules:
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Police Covenant Oversight Board will sit.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The first meeting of the Police Covenant Oversight Board will take place this summer.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the potential effect of the new immigration system on (a) the glass sector and (b) other industries that require the services of temporary specialist workers that are currently entering the UK as frontier workers.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office undertook extensive engagement with a wide range of stakeholders and employers as part of the development of the new points-based immigration system. The new immigration system provides a wide range of routes for skilled workers and specialist service suppliers which can be utilised by industries such as the glass sector.
EEA or Swiss citizen frontier workers who regularly undertook work in the UK before 11pm on 31 December 2020 can continue to do so if they meet the requirements of The Citizens’ Rights (Frontier Workers) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020.
Home Office Ministers frequently discuss the operation of the immigration system with Ministerial colleagues in the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of the new immigration system on (a) the glass sector and (b) other industries that require the services of temporary specialist workers who enter the UK as frontier workers; and what consultation her Department has undertaken with representatives of the glass industry on that matter.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Home Office undertook extensive engagement with a wide range of stakeholders and employers as part of the development of the new points-based immigration system. The new immigration system provides a wide range of routes for skilled workers and specialist service suppliers which can be utilised by industries such as the glass sector.
EEA or Swiss citizen frontier workers who regularly undertook work in the UK before 11pm on 31 December 2020 can continue to do so if they meet the requirements of The Citizens’ Rights (Frontier Workers) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020.
Home Office Ministers frequently discuss the operation of the immigration system with Ministerial colleagues in the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to clauses 148-150 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, what constitutes a positive requirement; and what assessment she has made of the effect of the positive requirements for registered sex offenders imposed would make to the police’s ability to manage sex offenders.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill includes measures to reform and strengthen the regime for managing sex offenders and those who pose a risk.
Once enacted, the Bill will enable Sexual Harm Prevention Orders (SHPO) and Sexual Risk Orders (SRO) to include provisions imposing positive obligations on offenders where appropriate. This could include, for example, requiring an individual to engage in a behaviour change programme or be subject to regular polygraph testing.
The Home Office has published an impact assessment alongside the introduction of the Bill which is available via the following link:
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to publish the end-to-end review of the criminal justice response to rape.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Rape and sexual assault are devastating crimes. We want all victims to have the confidence to report them, knowing that every investigation will be conducted thoroughly, and everything will be done to bring offenders to justice. That is why we commissioned an end-to-end review of the criminal justice system response to rape.
As indicated in my answer of 27 January, we expect the review to report with actions for cross-system improvement this spring. We want to ensure the review, when published, is as well evidenced as possible, so that it delivers meaningful and long-lasting change.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to FORWARD UK’s February 2021 report entitled Do No Harm: Lived Experiences and Impacts of FGM Safeguarding Policies and Procedures, if the Government will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the safeguarding approach for FGM in the UK.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
FGM is a crime and it is child abuse. We will not tolerate a practice that can cause extreme and lifelong physical and psychological suffering to women and girls.
The Government significantly strengthened the law in 2015 to improve protections for victims and those at risk. This included the introduction of a new safeguarding measure which compels certain professionals to report if they have encountered someone who appears to have been a victim of FGM and who is under the age of 18, regardless of what community they are from.
We are committed to ensuring that professionals take the right action to help protect those at risk of FGM and the Government provides free resources, including a resource pack, e-learning, statutory multi-agency guidance and a range of communication materials to ensure that they have the training and guidance they need to provide effective advice and support on this issue. Our Statement Opposing FGM is available in 11 different languages.
The Home Office has recently awarded emergency Covid-19 funding to charities which have so-called 'honour’-based abuse (which includes FGM) as the main or a core part of their remit, including £42,269 to The Vavengers, which supports survivors of FGM.
Over 600 FGM Protection Orders have been issued by the courts since they were introduced in 2015.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what mechanisms are in place to ensure that people who are required by law to notify local authorities or police of a change of name make that notification.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Tough checks and a range of legislative measures are available to the police to manage and monitor known sex offenders living in the community.
Under existing legislation (part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003) registered sex offenders are required to inform their offender manager of any change in circumstances, including a change of name. They must do this annually or whenever their details change. A failure to notify the police of a change of name can lead to the offender receiving a further conviction and a prison sentence of up to five years.
The Home Office will continue to work with the police, the courts and the Disclosure and Barring Service to ensure these mechanisms are robust and we will take all necessary steps to make sure the public is kept safe.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will extend the Ask for ANI Scheme to people who are housebound due to the covid-19 pandemic so that (a) people at risk can speak to pharmacy delivery workers to access domestic abuse support and (b) the necessary training can be provided to those delivering from pharmacies to people’s homes.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Home should be a safe place but for those confined with an abuser it is clearly not, that is why the ‘Ask for ANI’ codeword scheme is so important.
There are currently more than 2,600 pharmacies participating in the codeword scheme nationwide. Since its launch a few weeks ago, we have seen the scheme been used by a range of victims. We maintain an ongoing sign-up process, and are seeing more pharmacies sign-up each week.
Evaluation of the codeword scheme has begun, and we expect early findings in the Spring. Using the evidence collected we will explore options for further expansion of the scheme into other settings.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to publish the end-to-end review of the criminal justice response to rape.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Rape and sexual assault are devastating crimes and we want victims to have the confidence to report them, knowing that every investigation will be conducted thoroughly, and everything will be done to bring offenders to justice.
The Government is currently conducting an end-to-end review of the criminal justice response to rape, which includes identifying issues and areas for improvement in the police handling of cases. We want to ensure the review, when published, is as well evidenced as possible, so that it delivers meaningful and long-lasting change. We expect the review to report with actions for cross-system improvement in Spring.