Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) minimise disruption resulting from the transition to e-Visas and (b) ensure that older applicants are not disadvantaged by the move to an online system.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
An extensive communications campaign is being delivered in support of the transition from physical immigration documents to eVisas, to raise awareness of eVisas, build understanding of how it applies to visa holders and checkers, and encourage them to take action. This includes activity and messaging specifically targeting biometric residence permit (BRP) holding customers to register for a UKVI account by the end of 2024, when most BRPs expire, if they were not automatically provided with a UKVI account and eVisa when their most recent immigration application was approved.
We continue to take steps to reduce the number of circumstances where individuals need to provide evidence of their immigration status, by making relevant immigration status information available automatically through system to system checks with public authorities and government departments. Organisations with access currently include the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), DVLA, Social Security Scotland, NHS England and Wales, Border Force, and some local authorities.
In addition to these organisations, we have also developed technology to enable airline carriers to check immigration status automatically via systems checks. If for any reason the carrier does not receive confirmation of the passenger’s immigration status, they will be able to check this using the ‘view and prove’ service, or the carrier can contact the 24/7 Carrier Support Hub for advice.
Our communications explain that customers with older forms of evidence of immigration status, such as ink stamps in passports, will still be able to use their legacy document where permitted to prove their rights and when travelling, as they do today. However, we encourage those individuals to transition to an eVisa, which offers a range of benefits to customers and status checkers.
All communications activity has directed visa holders to www.gov.uk/eVisa, and, where appropriate, has highlighted the range of available support.
The Home Office is committed to ensuring everyone, including the elderly and the most vulnerable, are properly supported as we transform our immigration system. We have a range of support in place. This includes our Assisted Digital service (https://www.gov.uk/assisted-digital-help-online-applications) which is available in the UK to provide support by phone and email to those who need help with IT-related aspects of creating a UKVI account.
Customers can also contact the UK Visas and Immigration Resolution Centre (https://www.gov.uk/contact-ukvi-inside-outside-uk) for support via email and webchat, and telephone. They also support people through the online journey by:
The UK Visas and Immigration Resolution Centre can also help people with any technical issues with their online immigration status, and, where necessary, verify the person’s status through alternative means.
On 18 September 2024, we announced that the Government is providing up to £4m in dedicated grant funding to a UK wide network of voluntary and community sector organisations to deliver valuable support to those who need it, during the transition from physical immigration documents to eVisas.
To date, grant funding agreements are in place with four organisations that will provide national coverage.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what improvements he plans to make to the Police estate in Chesterfield constituency until 2029.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Derbyshire’s funding will be up to £244.8m in 2024/25, an increase of up to £15.4m when compared to 2023/24.
It is up to Chief Constables and directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners to make decisions on local resourcing and estates, including police stations. They are best placed to make these decisions based on their local knowledge and experience.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to reunite families separated as a result of leaving Afghanistan to seek asylum.
Answered by Robert Jenrick - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
We recognise that families can become separated because of the nature of conflict and the and manner in which people are often forced to flee their country. The refugee family reunion policy allows immediate family members, of those granted refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK to join them here, if they formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country.
The Government remains committed to providing protection for vulnerable people fleeing Afghanistan. However, the situation is extremely complex and presents us with significant challenges, including securing safe passage out of the country for those who want to leave and who are eligible for resettlement in the UK. This includes eligible family members of those resettled under the ARAP or ACRS.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to help support (a) people who worked for the previous administration supporting British personnel and (b) other people in Afghanistan to claim asylum in the UK.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
We are committed to working in step with the international community and continue to do all we can to enable those who are eligible to relocate to the UK.
Operation PITTING was the largest UK military evacuation since the Second World War, during which we evacuated c.15,000 individuals to the UK. In the year since Op Pitting a further c. 5,000 have arrived in the UK via neighbouring countries. This is in addition to c.2000 arrivals under Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) between the end of June 2021 and when the evacuation began on 14 August 2021.
Any current or former staff directly employed by the UK Government and assessed to be at serious risk of threat to life are eligible to apply for ARAP. So far - we have relocated around 10,300 eligible Afghan citizens and their family members under the ARAP scheme since it opened in April 2021 – and the scheme remains open.
For those who are not eligible for relocation under the ARAP, the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will provide up to 20,000 women, children, and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle and re-build their lives in the UK.
Since the scheme launched, in January this year, we have, through ACRS Pathway 1, granted Indefinite Leave to Remain to some of those already evacuated to the UK under Op PITTING.
More recently, under ACRS Pathway 2 – which opened in June - we have now begun to receive the first referrals from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), of Afghans who have already fled their country and are seeking resettlement in the UK. We look forward to welcoming the first new arrivals under this pathway in due course.
And, under ACRS Pathway 3 – which also opened in June - the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) launched an online system on Monday 20 June, through which eligible individuals were able to express interest in UK resettlement.
The window for Expressions of Interest (EOIs) under ACRS Pathway 3 closed on 15 August 2022. The FCDO is in the process of reviewing EOIs in the order they were received and those who have submitted one will be informed of the outcome of the process and next steps, via email.
Beyond the first year of the ACRS, we will work with international partners and NGOs to welcome wider groups of Afghans at risk.
Finally, we intend to establish a diplomatic presence in Afghanistan as soon as the security and political situation in the country allows. We are coordinating this effort with allies. This will enable us to deliver on our commitment to the people of Afghanistan, including through the provision of humanitarian aid and by bringing more vulnerable Afghan people to the UK through the ARAP and the ACRS
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will make an assessment of the level of potential risk of Iran facilitating and engaging in acts of terrorism and espionage against Iranian dissidents and activists living in the UK.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
We do not routinely comment on intelligence matters or specific threats.
The safety and security of our citizens is the Government’s top priority. As we made clear in the 2021 Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, we are committed to addressing growing threats from Iran, as well as other states. We will continue to use all tools at our disposal to protect the UK and our interests from any Iran-linked threats
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many passports have been delivered since TNT became the delivery provider; and how many complaints have been received regarding their service.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The volume deliveries by the secure delivery provider for Her Majesty’s Passport Office in the UK includes both passports and supporting documents. The delivery of passports alone is not held in a reportable format.
From 1 March 2020 to 30 November 2021, 8,286,931 passports and supporting documents have been delivered under the current contract for UK secure delivery services. 1829 complaints, were received about these services within the same period, which represents 0.02% of the delivery volume.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether officials in her Department have had discussions with representatives of TNT about complaints in respect of their passport delivery service.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Complaint information provides key insight to help identify and inform potential improvements to the services provided by Her Majesty’s Passport Office and its suppliers.
Complaints are therefore routinely discussed in the regular meetings held between HM Passport Office and FedEx (the parent company of TNT).
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of complaints in respect of the delivery of passports since TNT became the delivery provider.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The percentage of complaints about UK deliveries of passports and supporting documents is 0.02% between January and November 2021.
This compares to 0.02% in 2019 which was the last full year prior to the commencement of the current contract.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many investigations into police officers conducted by the Independent Office for Police Conduct have taken longer than 12 months from initial complaint to completion, by each police force area in each year from 2015 to date.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Home Office does not hold data on IOPC investigations. The Independent Office of Police Conduct will write to my hon. Friend and I will place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many complaints against police officers have been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct for investigation, by each police force in England and Wales in each year from 2015 to date.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Home Office does not hold data on IOPC investigations. The Independent Office of Police Conduct will write to my hon. Friend and I will place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.