Asked by: Susan Murray (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how her Department assesses references from British nationals during the visitor visa application process.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Visit caseworker guidance provides guidance to decision makers when assessing Visitor applications. It sets out that all information provided by the applicant must be assessed which may include supporting statements or references provided by British nationals to support the application - Visit caseworker guidance (accessible) - GOV.UK
Visitor visa applications are assessed on their individual merits, considering all aspects of the case. This may include supporting documents provided by a sponsor, which are then evaluated, along with the rest of the application, against the balance of probabilities to determine if the application meets the requirements of the Visitor Immigration Rules - Immigration Rules - Immigration Rules Appendix V: Visitor - Guidance - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Susan Murray (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of allowing asylum seekers to undertake paid work.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
At present, asylum seekers who have had their claim outstanding for 12 months or more, through no fault of their own, can apply for permission to work. Those permitted to work are restricted to jobs on the Immigration Salary List. This list is based on expert advice from the independent Migration Advisory Committee.
Asked by: Susan Murray (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of launching a review of the antisocial use of fireworks in residential areas.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police and local authorities with a range of flexible tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to anti-social behaviour, including the misuse of fireworks.
To inform any future decisions on the legislative framework the Government will continue to engage with stakeholders to gather evidence on the issues raised by the antisocial use of fireworks, and consider any further steps that need to be taken to tackle the problem.
Asked by: Susan Murray (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with West Midlands Police on the protection of Sikh separatist activists.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is firmly committed to promoting and protecting the right to freedom of religion, or belief, and being a strong voice internationally in defence of this fundamental right.
Any attempt to intimidate, harass or harm individuals in the UK will not be tolerated. Wherever we identify such threats, we will use all measures, including through our world-class intelligence services, to mitigate risk to individuals.
Police forces are operationally independent of Government. Therefore, the Home Office does not comment on operational decisions taken by the Police, including, any decisions taken by the police to issue protective security advice.
The Blue Book of Protective Security is available to anyone who would like to improve their personal security, for whatever reason, and is freely available on the Protect UK website.Anyone who is concerned for their safety should contact the police in the first instance.