Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Passport Office is creating additional appointment slots for Fast Track passport applications in response to increased demand.
Answered by Kevin Foster
HMPO are looking at a range of interventions to increase our capacity for providing additional urgent service appointments as soon as possible.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assistance her Department provides to people seeking a fast track passport appointment but who are unable to book a slot.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Appointments for urgent services are released three weeks in advance. While this means new appointments are released on a daily basis at each of the seven public counters, in busy periods these will be booked quickly.
Her Majesty’s Passport Office therefore continues to explore options to increase appointment capacity to further support its customers with urgent travel needs.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
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 expanding the Ukraine Family Visa Scheme to include Ukrainian nationals whose close relatives are in the UK on Skilled Worker visas.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Skilled workers who have not obtained settlement are not permitted to sponsor under the Ukraine Family Scheme. However, they may wish to consider sponsoring a relative under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme. This bespoke scheme offers a route to those who want to come to the UK who have someone here willing to provide them with a home. It will enable individuals, charities, community groups and businesses to volunteer accommodation and provide a route to safety for Ukrainians, and their immediate family members, forced to escape their homeland.
Further information on the process and how to apply to sponsor under the Homes for Ukraine scheme can be found here: https://homesforukraine.campaign.gov.uk/
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
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 introducing a path to permanent UK residency for Hong Kong citizens who have studied at and graduated from UK universities.
Answered by Kevin Foster
International students, including those from Hong Kong, who successfully complete a degree at undergraduate level or above at a Higher Education Provider with a track record of compliance and hold valid permission in the UK as a Student (or Tier 4) may qualify for the Graduate route.
The Graduate route does not count towards settlement rights, although graduates are able to switch to the Skilled Worker route if they meet the relevant requirements, which allows them to stay in the UK to do an eligible job with an approved employer and contributes to settlement rights. Given the much wider range of professions which qualify for the current Skilled Worker Visa compared to its predecessor, there are many more opportunities to do this than in the past.
In addition, the BN(O) route which was launched on 31 January 2021 enables BN(O) status holders and their eligible family members to live, work and study in the UK on a pathway to citizenship should they decide it is the right choice for them.
On 24 February 2022, the Government announced changes to the BN(O) route to allow eligible adult children of a BN(O) status holder to apply for the route independently of their parents, provided they meet all other eligibility and suitability requirements for the route. This change will be implemented from the Autumn with further detail to be published in due course. Those who are eligible and already in the UK on a student visa can switch into the BN(O) route from within the UK.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps people that have escaped from Afghanistan to a third country can take to register with the UNHCR for referral to the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme in cases where the UNHCR does not operate in that country.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme commenced on 6th January, providing up to 20,000 women, children and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK.
From Spring 2022, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will refer refugees to the scheme, based on assessments of protection need. The UNHCR has the global mandate to provide international protection and to assist Governments in finding solutions for refugees. UNHCR will refer refugees who are located in various locations, predominantly residing in Asia.
Those referred by UNHCR will be assessed for resettlement by UNHCR using their established process, and in line with their resettlement submission categories.
Further policy guidance will be published in due course.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when details of the UNHCR referral route process for the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme will be published.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme commenced on 6th January, providing up to 20,000 women, children and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK.
From Spring 2022, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will refer refugees to the scheme, based on assessments of protection need. The UNHCR has the global mandate to provide international protection and to assist Governments in finding solutions for refugees. UNHCR will refer refugees who are located in various locations, predominantly residing in Asia.
Those referred by UNHCR will be assessed for resettlement by UNHCR using their established process, and in line with their resettlement submission categories.
Further policy guidance will be published in due course.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applicants for asylum from (a) Afghanistan, (b) Yemen and (c) Syria have been told by her Department, in refusing their asylum claims, that it is safe for them to return to their country of origin, in the last 12 months.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office are unable to state how many applications for asylum from Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria have been told in refusing their asylum claims, it is safe for them to return to their country of origin in the last 12 months, as this information is not held in a reportable format and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
All asylum claims, including those from nationals of Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan, are considered on a case by case basis, based on the facts presented by the claimant, regardless of the claimant’s country of origin and the prevailing situation.
Our country policy and information notes contain an assessment of risk and makes it clear that each case will be considered on its own merits and that no one who is at real risk of persecution or serious harm in Afghanistan, Yemen or Syria will be expected to return. The country policy guidance for each country is available on gov.uk, via the following links: Afghanistan: country policy and information notes - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Syria: country policy and information notes - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), Yemen: country policy and information notes - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she will review the impact of the closure of English language testing hubs in Afghanistan for spouses of people already granted refugee status in UK.
Answered by Kevin Foster
There are no requirements for family members of refugees applying under the family reunion provisions in part 11 of the Immigration Rules to meet the English language requirements.
With respect to the wider family Immigration Rules, the Government believes those seeking to enter and make a permanent home in the UK should be equipped to integrate successfully in UK society, with an appropriate level of English and an understanding of British life.
There are no plans to suspend the requirement for spouses specifically from Afghanistan to pass an English language test to enter the UK.
However, under the Rules an applicant can be exempted from the English language requirement to enter the UK if a decision maker considers there are exceptional circumstances preventing the applicant from meeting the requirement.
The applicant must demonstrate, as a result of exceptional circumstances, they are unable to learn English before coming to the UK or it is not practicable or reasonable for them to travel to another country to take an approved English language test.
Each application for an exemption on the basis of exceptional circumstances will be considered on its merits on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle theft of tradespeoples' tools from vehicles.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government is tackling acquisitive crime as a priority and is committed to reducing the ability for criminals to profit. We understand the negative impact theft has on victims who rely on the tools of their trade to earn a living. We have established an expert Stolen Goods Working Group with the police and academia to tackle the markets for stolen goods. The group is examining ways to make property more identifiable and traceable, and are working with partners to increase enforcement.
We also continue to work closely with the police and motor manufacturers through the National Vehicle Crime Working Group, established by the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime. This includes consideration of how we can reduce thefts of items from vehicles. Through this Working Group, a network of vehicle crime specialists has been established across all police forces in England and Wales to share expertise.
To ensure the police have the resources they need to tackle crime, the Government is recruiting an additional 20,000 police officers by March 2023. The police have now recruited an additional 11,053 officers towards the target.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the covid-19 restrictions on indoor social gatherings in place in November and December 2020, how many people were charged with breaching those rules; and what the total sum of fines issued for those breaches was.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Home Office does not hold the specific data requested.