Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people settled in the UK through the (a) UK Resettlement Scheme, (b) Community Sponsorship Scheme and (c) Mandate Resettlement Scheme between January 2022 and April 2023.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office publishes data on resettlement in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on refugees resettled in the UK by scheme can be found in table Asy_D02 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. The latest data relate to the year ending December 2022. Data for the year ending March 2023 will be published on 25 May 2023. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any exceptions are made for dual nationals requiring an observation on their British passport if their second nationality could risk their safety when travelling abroad.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
There are exceptions in place to ensure the safety of those holding dual nationality when travelling due to the content of an observation. This may involve issuing an additional passport with restricted validity without including an observation. This is outlined in in published guidance on GOV.UK at Names: aligning names on foreign documents (accessible) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of using Kinnegar Logistics Base in Holywood for housing asylum seekers.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We do not comment on individual sites. The Home Office is assessing all suitable options for accommodation.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government has provided additional support to new asylum dispersal areas in Northern Ireland for (a) healthcare, (b) education, (c) English language lessons, (d) access to legal representation and (e) other essential services .
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Strategic Migration Partnership in Northern Ireland is not currently functioning. However, discussions are ongoing to restore the partnership and its roles and responsibilities will be determined when it is re-established. In the meantime, the Home Office continues to work collaboratively with partners in Northern Ireland on matters previously covered by the Strategic Migration Partnership.
Full Dispersal funding was made available to the Executive Office in the 2022/2023 financial year and an enhanced package has been approved for the 2023/2024 financial year. The Executive Office has full autonomy in how this funding is distributed.
The Home Office does not conduct community engagement on dispersed asylum seekers in any region.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is conducting community engagement on dispersed asylum seekers in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Strategic Migration Partnership in Northern Ireland is not currently functioning. However, discussions are ongoing to restore the partnership and its roles and responsibilities will be determined when it is re-established. In the meantime, the Home Office continues to work collaboratively with partners in Northern Ireland on matters previously covered by the Strategic Migration Partnership.
Full Dispersal funding was made available to the Executive Office in the 2022/2023 financial year and an enhanced package has been approved for the 2023/2024 financial year. The Executive Office has full autonomy in how this funding is distributed.
The Home Office does not conduct community engagement on dispersed asylum seekers in any region.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the role and responsibilities of the Northern Ireland Strategic Migration Partnership are.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Strategic Migration Partnership in Northern Ireland is not currently functioning. However, discussions are ongoing to restore the partnership and its roles and responsibilities will be determined when it is re-established. In the meantime, the Home Office continues to work collaboratively with partners in Northern Ireland on matters previously covered by the Strategic Migration Partnership.
Full Dispersal funding was made available to the Executive Office in the 2022/2023 financial year and an enhanced package has been approved for the 2023/2024 financial year. The Executive Office has full autonomy in how this funding is distributed.
The Home Office does not conduct community engagement on dispersed asylum seekers in any region.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what additional funding the Government has provided to charity and voluntary organisations providing support to asylum seekers in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Funding for Northern Ireland is provided to the Northern Ireland Executive Office under the full dispersal model - this is un-ringfenced funding. We do not fund charities and voluntary organisations directly to support asylum seekers under full dispersal.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
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 recording outcomes after a victim is referred to the Home Office’s enforcement unit.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The outcomes of those entering the Migrant Victims Protocol (MVP) will be monitored and recorded.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, under what circumstances her Department issues British passports containing a reference to the holder's dual nationality.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
HM Passport Office do not make specific references to a customer’s dual nationality in their British passport.
However, there are circumstances (outlined in published guidance on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/names-aligning-names-on-foreign-documents) when they will add an observation to show the customer has a foreign passport, travel document or national identity card in a different name.
The observation will name the country that the foreign passport, travel document or national identity document is from, rather than the nationality status.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
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 recording Police Service of Northern Ireland email referrals to the Home Office’s enforcement unit so cases involving victims of crime can be readily identified.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Police Officers make real time (telephone) referrals to the Immigration Enforcement National Command and Control Unit (NCCU). Since April 2020 NCCU specifically captures information about victims of crime referred by the police by telephone, it cannot presently do so for referrals by email. NCCU records the information that it receives from forces in the same way – it does not differentiate between forces and has no intention of doing so.
The referral of information about a migrant victim enables Immigration Enforcement to provide information on Home Office systems to assist police and other authorities to establish the potential vulnerabilities and safeguarding needs of those who are being referred.
The Home Office is committed to supporting the reporting of crime including by people who are without immigration status. Current data sharing practices between the police and the Home Office are essential in protecting those most vulnerable and in enforcing the UK’s immigration laws.
The National Command and Control Unit is in the process of commissioning a new management information system which will enable email referrals from all forces to be reported in future.