Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his Rwandan counterpart on potential threats to the personal safety of Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We regularly discuss the importance of open political space with the Rwandan government. I did so during my visit to Kigali in August 2023, and we continue to engage with Rwandan officials on this issue via our High Commission.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has had discussions with commercial airlines on the potential provision of flights between the UK and Rwanda for the purposes of relocating asylum seekers in line with (a) the Migration and Economic Development Partnership and (b) the UK-Rwanda treaty on provision of an asylum partnership.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson
We have robust plans in place for future flights and have carried out discussions with a range of companies. These discussions are commercially sensitive and therefore we will not be providing a running commentary on them.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have had their asylum claims (a) removed and (b) withdrawn from the legacy asylum backlog and then gone on to submit new asylum claims.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The number of people who have had their asylum claims removed and withdrawn from the legacy asylum backlog can be found in the quarterly immigration statistics at Asy_10b: asylum-summary-sep-2023-tables, however we are not able to provide the numbers of those who have gone on to have either a new fresh asylum claim accepted and/or have raised a further submission as this information is not published.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans she has to implement the recommendations of the Law Commission's report Building families through surrogacy: a new law, HC1236, on (a) establishing a new pathway for surrogacy in which intended parents can be recognised as legal parents from birth, when supported by Regulated Surrogacy Organisations, (b) establishing a surrogacy register to enable people born through surrogacy to find out about their origins, (c) removing the need for surrogates’ partners to consent to parental orders and (d) introducing up to date guidance on what counts as a reasonable expense within a surrogacy agreement.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The Government is giving consideration to all the recommendations in the Law Commission report, Building families through surrogacy: a new law, and will publish a full response in due course.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Rwanda on the number of Home Office officials that will be sent to help Rwanda upgrade its asylum processing capabilities.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We have been working at pace with the Government of Rwanda to help strengthen the operation of their asylum system. We will continue to progress this, in light of the Supreme Court judgment, and a range of options for further support are being considered. Conversations between governments remain confidential.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department are taking to help ensure that 10% sustainable aviation fuels are blended in the UK jet fuel mix by 2030.
Answered by Anthony Browne
Following a public consultation, in July 2022, Government confirmed that a sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) mandate would be introduced in 2025, requiring at least 10% (around 1.5 billion litres) of jet fuel to be made from sustainable feedstocks by 2030.
As part of our second consultation published in March 2023, we proposed a range of trajectories for the mandate from 2025 to 2040, all of which would deliver 10% SAF by 2030. We will confirm the trajectories in the forthcoming government response.
We are also taking steps to develop a UK SAF industry and have a commitment to see at least five plants under construction by 2025. We have already funded 5 projects through the Advanced Fuels Fund (AFF), each receiving a share of £82.5m, with an announcement on the second-round winners expected in November 2023.
The Government recognises that uncertainty over future revenues remains a key barrier to investment in SAF production in the UK. In September, the Government committed to introduce a revenue certainty mechanism to support Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production in the UK. Alongside this announcement, the government published a delivery plan outlining the timeline for how such a mechanism could be delivered by 2026.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to open a consultation on the revenue certainty scheme for the sustainable aviation fuel programme.
Answered by Anthony Browne
We are on-track to consult on options to design and implement a revenue certainty mechanism to support a UK Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) industry by the end of April 2024. This will meet our statutory duty, as set out in the Energy Act 2023, to consult within six months of the Act receiving Royal Assent on 26 October.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2023 to Question 200936 on Visas: Skilled Workers, how many allegations of exploitation investigated by the Seasonal Agricultural Compliance team resulted in (a) recovery of funds and (b) other forms of compensation.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office does not publish data that would cover this request.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress her Department has made toward meeting the target of securing an average of 350 additional beds for asylum seekers in dispersed accommodation per week; and when her Department expect to meet that target.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office publishes data on asylum seekers in receipt of support in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum seekers in receipt of support by accommodation type including hotels and other accommodation can be found in table Asy_D09 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’. The next data release is due 23 November 2023.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of 17 October 2023 by the Minister for Immigration on safe asylum routes for Afghan refugees, Official Report, Column 54WH, how many and what proportion of people who submitted an Expression of Interest in resettlement to the UK under Pathway 3 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme and have been assessed by his Department as eligible in principle for resettlement under that pathway are located in (a) Afghanistan and (b) a third country.
Answered by Leo Docherty
Given the sensitivity of the security checks element of the process, we are unable to give precise numbers of individuals at each stage of the process. This is a dynamic picture, which changes daily. It would not be helpful for those in Afghanistan for us to give a running commentary on numbers, which could draw attention to those preparing to cross the border.
As of 19 October, there are circa 910 eligible individuals under ACRS Pathway 3 being supported in third countries.