Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of people who were (a) called forward and (b) authorised for evacuation during Operation Pitting but were not able to board flights have subsequently been resettled under pathway one of the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The UK has made an important commitment to resettle Afghans fleeing persecution and those who served the UK.
Data on the number of Afghans who were called forward and not able to board flights who have been subsequently resettled under ACRS Pathway 1 is not captured in the immigration statistics.
The latest published Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) show that (up to the end of March 2024) around 30,100 people have been brought to safety from Afghanistan and the region.
These statistics also show that:
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 19 February 2024 to Question 13568 on Sexual Harassment, when she plans that the Protection from Sex-based Harassment in Public Act 2023 will come into force.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Everyone has the right to live in freedom from fear. Women and girls are still facing threats of violence and abuse and we will not stand by and let this continue.
This Government considers tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) a national emergency, and we are committed to halving levels of VAWG within the next decade.
This includes tackling public sexual harassment, which can have a devastating impact on victims and mean that women do not feel safe on our streets. The Protection from Sex-Based Harassment in Public Act 2023 will make it a specific offence and see perpetrators face up to 2 years in jail. We will confirm next steps imminently.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she expects the implementation of safe access zones around abortion clinics to be enacted.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
It is unacceptable that anyone should be subjected to harassment or intimidation for exercising their legal right to have access to abortion services. We will quickly review where these arrangements have got to and commence safe access zones around abortion clinics imminently.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the number of individuals deemed eligible for removal to Rwanda that (a) have (i) partners and (ii) spouses and (b) are a dependent of an individual who has been granted (A) asylum and (B) other leave to remain.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson
It would be inappropriate to start giving out numbers. This is operationally sensitive information.
Everyone considered for relocation will be screened and have access to legal advice. Decisions will be taken on a case-by-case basis, and nobody will be relocated if it is unsafe or inappropriate for them.
For those with family links in the UK, who want to be considered for entry to the UK, they should seek to do so via legal and safe routes. Nobody should put their lives into the hands of criminal people smuggling gangs by making dangerous and irregular journeys.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will publish the standard operating procedures for (a) processing and (b) transferring asylum seekers between the UK and Ireland.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
In 2020, we agreed operational arrangements which allow for the return and readmission of asylum seekers where this is agreed by both participants. This is a non-legally binding arrangement relating to operational procedures, which we do not routinely publish.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of individuals identified as eligible for removal to Rwanda are resident in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson
Individuals who were previously present in a safe third country and entered the UK by a dangerous and unnecessary method are liable to be relocated to Rwanda. The Home Office does not routinely publish this information at a regional level.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2024 to Question 22938 on Youth Mobility Scheme: EU Countries, with which EU member states his Department has discussed a bilateral youth mobility scheme; and when each of those discussions commenced.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
Youth Mobility Schemes (YMS) are agreed to following bilateral negotiation over the reciprocal arrangement between the relevant parties. It would therefore be inappropriate to disclose the status of negotiations as they occur, or the parties involved.
We remain committed to expanding our YMS offer to more nations, including, but not limited to, those within the EU. Further details of additional YMS agreements will be announced once they are concluded.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 22 November 2023 to Question HL130 on Youth Mobility Scheme: EU countries, whether he has had discussions with EU Member state counterparts on establishing bilateral youth mobility schemes.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The UK remain open to negotiating new bilateral Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) arrangements with other countries and territories, including all EU Member States. However, as each YMS is subject to a bilateral, reciprocal arrangement which also provides benefit to UK nationals, with the details agreed between the relevant parties, we are unable to disclose the status of negotiations as they occur.
We remain committed to expanding our YMS to more nations, including but not limited to those within the EU. Further details of additional YMS agreements will be announced once they are concluded.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2024 to Question 8419 on Protection from Sex-based Harassment in Public Act 2023, when he plans to publish the statutory guidance for the Protection from Sex-based Harassment in Public Act 2023.
Answered by Laura Farris
We supported the Protection from Sex-Based Harassment in Public Act 2023 (sponsored by Rt Hon. Greg Clark MP and Lord Wolfson of Tredegar KC), which makes public sexual harassment a specific offence. As with any new criminal justice legislation, an implementation period is necessary to ensure all processes, systems and guidance are updated – including drawing up the statutory guidance. We are working to ensure the legislation comes into force as quickly as reasonably possible.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has issued guidance on reasons that EU citizens with a valid passport may be refused entry to the UK.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The guidance used by Border Force officers is published on the Government website Visiting the UK as an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). A person with a valid EU passport can still be refused if they don’t satisfy these requirements set out in the guidance.