Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for visas for Palestinian nationals were (a) rejected and (b) approved in (i) October 2023, (ii) November 2023, (iii) December 2023, (iv) January 2024 and (v) February 2024.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office does not publish data at the level of detail requested, however, we do publish data on entry clearance visas, by nationality, in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on work and sponsored study visas granted are published in table Vis_D02 of the Entry clearance detailed dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relate to 2023 Q4.
Every attempt is made to meet the service level agreement standard, but in certain cases additional checks are required which can mean visa requests take longer to process.
The latest data on performance against service standards is published through migration transparency data and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data#uk-visas-and-immigration(opens in a new tab).
The Home Office also publishes information on visa processing times for applications inside and outside the UK at: Visa processing times - 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, how many people in Gaza are awaiting the results of their applications for a visa as a dependant of someone in the UK on a (a) work and (b) student visa, who applied (i) on and (ii) before 7 October 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office does not publish data at the level of detail requested, however, we do publish data on entry clearance visas, by nationality, in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on work and sponsored study visas granted are published in table Vis_D02 of the Entry clearance detailed dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relate to 2023 Q4.
Every attempt is made to meet the service level agreement standard, but in certain cases additional checks are required which can mean visa requests take longer to process.
The latest data on performance against service standards is published through migration transparency data and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data#uk-visas-and-immigration(opens in a new tab).
The Home Office also publishes information on visa processing times for applications inside and outside the UK at: Visa processing times - 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, how many visas for Palestinian nationals (a) are being processed, (b) have been approved and (c) have been rejected since 1 October 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office does not publish data at the level of detail requested, however, we do publish data on entry clearance visas, by nationality, in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on work and sponsored study visas granted are published in table Vis_D02 of the Entry clearance detailed dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relate to 2023 Q4.
Every attempt is made to meet the service level agreement standard, but in certain cases additional checks are required which can mean visa requests take longer to process.
The latest data on performance against service standards is published through migration transparency data and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data#uk-visas-and-immigration(opens in a new tab).
The Home Office also publishes information on visa processing times for applications inside and outside the UK at: Visa processing times - 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, what the average processing time was for a skilled worker visa in (a) December 2023 and (b) January 2024.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office makes every attempt to meet the service level agreement standard, but in certain cases additional checks are required which can mean visa requests take longer to process.
The latest data on performance against service standards is published through migration transparency data and can be found at: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
The Home Office also publishes information on visa processing times for applications inside and outside the UK at: Visa processing times - 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, what guidance his Department has issued on whether Skilled Worker Visa applicants whose overall band score in the IELTS English Language exam satisfies Home Office requirements but one area is below the minimum requirement can be issued with a visa.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
A migrant must pass all elements of an IELTS test, or one of the other English language tests which are acceptable, at the required level for a Skilled Worker visa. Because English Language is a mandatory requirement, there is no such guidance for migrants who fail to meet that requirement.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether (a) GoFundMe and (b) other fundraisers set up by a friend or relative can impact on a claimant's access to (i) universal credit, (ii) child benefit, (iii) housing benefit and (iv) other social security benefits.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
A lump sum received as a result of a fund-raising campaign through GoFundMe or other similar platforms would be treated as capital for the assessment of means-tested benefits (Universal Credit, Income Support, Housing Benefit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance and income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance). Such a payment would only affect benefit entitlement if the claimant’s total capital exceeds the lower limit of £6,000, then a tariff will be applied to reduce the means -tested benefit award. For pension age benefits (Housing Benefit for pensioners and Pension Credit) the tariff would only be applied where the total capital held exceeds £10,000.
Where the lump sum payment means that the claimant’s capital exceeds the upper capital limit of £16,000 then the individual will no longer be eligible for means-tested benefits, although there is no limit for Pension Credit.
In certain specific circumstances money received through such channels may be eligible for a formal disregard. Charitable or voluntary payments which are made or due to be made at regular intervals are fully “disregarded” (ignored) in Income Support, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance and Universal Credit.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Second Special Report of the Environmental Audit Committee of Session 2017–19 on Toxic Chemicals in Everyday Life: Government Response to the Committee's Twentieth Report of Session 2017–19, HC160, published on 30 October 2019, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of chemical flame-retardant use in furniture filling materials on (a) health, (b) environmental wellbeing and (c) fire safety.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government has consulted on a new approach to the fire safety of domestic upholstered furniture and will set out its response in due course. The consultation included proposals to encourage and enable a reduction in the use of chemical flame retardants reflecting commitments made in the Government’s response to the Environmental Audit Committee’s 2019 report. Where flame retardants are used to meet the fire safety requirements, they must be compliant with all relevant UK chemicals regulations, including UK REACH.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on what date the UK Government made the decision to allocate £150 million from the Fresh Start Agreement funding package to the Strule Shared Education Campus.
Answered by Steve Baker - Minister of State (Northern Ireland Office)
In June 2018, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland announced £144 million from the Fresh Start Agreement funding package to be allocated to the Strule Shared Education Campus in Omagh. This built on an initial £43 million announced in March 2016. The UK Government was advised by the Northern Ireland Civil Service in June 2023 that there was an assumption that this allocation had risen.
Fresh Start Agreement funding has always been subject to individual projects, including Strule, being agreed between the Northern Ireland Executive and the UK Government. The Government has continued to work with Northern Ireland Departments on funding arrangements and projects under the Agreement and final funding allocations continue to be subject to HM Treasury approval.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has had discussions with the British Medical Association on preparatory work for legislation for the Work Capability Assessments.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Following the announcement of changes to the Work Capability Assessment, officials are working with clinical experts in mental health and representatives from national organisations to define the Substantial Risk criteria which will be outlined in legislation.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when funds will be available from Fresh Start Funding for financial year 2023-24; and what funds are available to the Northern Ireland Department of Finance from that scheme in 2023-24.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
At Main Estimates 2023-24, the Northern Ireland Executive was provided with £64.4 million of capital funding under the Fresh Start Agreement. Any additional Fresh Start Agreement funding in 2023-24 for the Northern Ireland Executive would be confirmed through the Supplementary Estimates process that is ongoing.
Funding for individual projects is administered by the Northern Ireland Executive’s Department of Education.