Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce processing times for limited leave to remain extension applications.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
UK Visas and Immigration are currently operating within their global customer service standards across all of the main legal migration routes for customers who make an entry clearance application from overseas and for applications made inside the UK.
Details of current performance against these customer service standards are updated regularly and can be found at:
Visa decision waiting times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab).
Visa decision waiting times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the number of people who have applied for indefinite leave to remain after completing the 10-year route based on their family or private life since 2012.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The data requested is not available in a reportable format.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the impact of the 10-year route to settlement on integration (a) before and (b) after it was expanded in 2012.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Those who meet all eligibility and specified evidential requirements of the Family Immigration Rules are granted on a five-year route to settlement (granted in two periods of 30 months, with a third application for indefinite leave to remain). Those who cannot or do not meet these requirements, or seek to rely on their private life, instead have a 10 year route to settlement (granted in four periods of 30 months, with a fifth application for indefinite leave to remain). This reflects our obligations under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The 10 year route provides additional time for those applicants to better integrate into British society by being able to achieve an appropriate knowledge of the English language which, in turn, will enable them to obtain employment and take a full and active part in their community.
We are in the process of simplifying the immigration system, including the 10 year routes to settlement. As part of this simplification the impact of existing policies will be taken into account.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a fee waiver for applications for indefinite leave to remain.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The right to stay indefinitely is one of the most valuable entitlements offered for those seeking to enter or remain in the UK, and it is right that the fee should be higher than most for migrants staying temporarily in the UK.
A grant of indefinite leave to remain is not necessary to enable people to remain in the UK on the basis of their Article 8 or other ECHR rights, as these can be met through a grant of limited leave to remain. The provision of an affordability-based waiver for limited leave on family and private life routes allows an individual or family to remain here lawfully, and to then apply for settlement and pay the fee when the funds become available. As such, there are no plans to waive the fee for indefinite leave to remain.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the number of people who are expected to apply for indefinite leave to remain after completing the 10-year route based on their family or private life in the next five years.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The data requested is not available in a reportable format.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of (a) the number of people waiting for the outcome of an application for further leave to remain and (b) the proportion of those people who have limited leave to remain on the 10-year route to settlement on the basis of their family or private lives.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We do not currently hold any information regarding the proportion of these people who might have limited leave to remain in the UK and are consequently awaiting a decision on a visa extension application are on the ten-year route to settlement.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to introduce places of safety for people leaving immediate situations of exploitation before deciding whether to enter the National Referral Mechanism.
Answered by Sarah Dines
Potential victims of modern slavery who have entered the NRM, and need emergency accommodation, particularly those who are vulnerable and are leaving immediate situations of exploitation, will receive accommodation support in line with the Modern Slavery Statutory Guidance.
The Home Office is reviewing the policy options and commencement of places of safety.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on potential responses to the Ugandan Government's Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2023.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
I have expressed the UK's deep disappointment with the decision of the Parliament of Uganda on 21 March 2023 to pass the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. The UK is alarmed by the increasing criminalization of LGBT+ people in Uganda. This Bill threatens minority rights and risks persecution and discrimination of all people across Uganda. Amendments to the Bill, including introduction of the death penalty for 'aggravated homosexuality', are very worrying. The UK Government is firmly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances and in every country.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing routine screening for newly-arrived asylum seekers for antimicrobial resistant organisms.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government is committed to tackling antimicrobial resistance and reducing the risk of drug-resistant infections for all people. In 2019, the Government published a 20-Year Vision to effectively contain, control and mitigate antimicrobial resistance by 2040, and the first in a series of five-year national action plans to support the Vision is available at the following link:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/antimicrobial-resistance-amr-information-and-resources
Information for healthcare professionals on meeting the health needs of migrants is available in the Migrant Health Guide, which is produced by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities is available at the following link:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/migrant-health-guide
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) provides guidance for healthcare professionals on managing infectious diseases in all migrants through the Migrant Health Guide. The guide provides detailed information on screening by infection type and is regularly reviewed. UKHSA also provides specific guidance on infectious diseases in the asylum seeker population, including information for testing for antimicrobial resistance in diphtheria cases is available at the following link:
www.gov.uk/guidance/infectious-diseases-in-asylum-seekers-actions-for-health-professionals
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential risk of (a) antimicrobial resistance and (b) drug resistant infections in immigration detention centres.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No assessment has been made.
The Government is committed to tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and reducing the risk of drug-resistant infections for all people. In 2019, the Government published a 20-Year Vision to effectively contain, control and mitigate AMR by 2040, and the first in a series of five-year national action plans to support the Vision.