Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2024 to Question 548 on Prostitution: Gower, what steps she is taking to raise awareness of the harms of paying for sex among men.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Protecting those involved in prostitution from harm is part of our wider work to halve the level of violence against woman and girls.
This government will use every lever available to us to prevent the harms that prostituted women often experience.
We will work with law enforcement and charity organisations to deliver this.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce demand for trafficking for sexual exploitation in Gower constituency.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The trafficking of woman and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. We are determined to safeguard victims and to bring the ruthless perpetrators of this crime to justice.
We are working closely with law enforcement partners and the devolved administrations to tackle the drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through operational intensifications to target perpetrators and implementing the Online Safety Act 2023 so online companies fulfil their duty to eradicate this exploitation from their sites.
We are committed to making our streets safer by tackling the harm and exploitation associated with prostitution. This Government will work closely with the voluntary and community sector to ensure that those who want to leave are able to.
The Home Office is funding a three-year project by Changing Lives to tackle violence against women and girls online, which includes providing early intervention and support for women and girls at high risk of commercial online exploitation.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support the Government is providing to help people in Gower exit prostitution.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The trafficking of woman and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. We are determined to safeguard victims and to bring the ruthless perpetrators of this crime to justice.
We are working closely with law enforcement partners and the devolved administrations to tackle the drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through operational intensifications to target perpetrators and implementing the Online Safety Act 2023 so online companies fulfil their duty to eradicate this exploitation from their sites.
We are committed to making our streets safer by tackling the harm and exploitation associated with prostitution. This Government will work closely with the voluntary and community sector to ensure that those who want to leave are able to.
The Home Office is funding a three-year project by Changing Lives to tackle violence against women and girls online, which includes providing early intervention and support for women and girls at high risk of commercial online exploitation.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the (a) coronavirus extension concession and (b) exceptional assurance concession on the average length of decision periods for applications for indefinite leave to remain.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
On 4 April 2024 a change was made to the Immigration Rules to provide that:
(a) Time spent in the UK during the Coronavirus extension concession grace period (1 August and 31 August 2020) would be considered as lawful presence where an applicant’s permission expired immediately before the grace period; and
(b) Overstaying in the UK when a person held an exceptional assurance concession would be disregarded during the period of grant of exceptional assurance.
Following this Immigration Rules change, decisions on applications for settlement where the person spent time in the UK for a period covered by these concessions are now being prioritised.
Where cases fall outside service standards, the Home Office write to the applicant to inform them of this.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he is aware of delays in casework decisions where further advice on policy is sought.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
Our priority is to consider claims as efficiently and fairly as possible. This is best for claimants, but also reduces the number of people on asylum support, and in turn, the burden on taxpayers. There may be circumstances which may delay the progression of a case, for example waiting for evidence that is of importance in deciding a claim, or a change in country situation requiring an update in country and policy information notes leading to a pause in deciding cases.
In these circumstances, regular reviews are undertaken at appropriate intervals, dependant on the reason why the claim cannot be progressed. As soon as the reason why the claim cannot be progressed is lifted, consideration of the claim is continued.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many civil servants are assigned to process indefinite leave to remain applications made using the (a) priority service and (b) super priority service.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The number of civil servants processing Indefinite Leave to Remain applications, including priority and super priority applications, is forecast in advance, based on anticipated intake levels. However, the actual number of civil servants assigned to this work at any one time will vary as we actively monitor workflows to ensure sufficient resources are in place to meet demand.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many indefinite leave to remain applicants have used the (a) priority service and (b) super priority service in the last 12 months.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The Home Office publishes data on the number of indefinite leave to remain applications, in the Migration transparency data, in table VSI_02 of the Visas and citizenship data: Q3 2023.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many civil servants are assigned to process indefinite leave to remain applications.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The number of civil servants processing Indefinite Leave to Remain applications, including priority and super priority applications, is forecast in advance, based on anticipated intake levels. However, the actual number of civil servants assigned to this work at any one time will vary as we actively monitor workflows to ensure sufficient resources are in place to meet demand.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the policy paper entitled UK-France Joint Leaders' Declaration: 10 March 2023, and pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2023 to Question 191049 on Educational Visits: France, when the Government plans to (a) conclude its work on the details of implementation and (b) publish that information.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
At the Leaders’ Summit in Paris on 10 March 2023 the UK committed to ease the travel of school groups to the UK by making changes to documentary requirements for schoolchildren on organised trips from France.
France and the UK further agreed to establish a Mobility Dialogue through a Technical Working Group under joint ministerial oversight to address bilateral mobility issues. The first of these was held in early June.
Work is now underway to operationalise these arrangements and more information will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the UK-France Joint Leaders Declaration, agreed on 10 March 2023, when her Department plans to publish the timeline for implementing changes to documentary requirements for school children on organised trips from France.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
At the Leaders’ Summit in Paris on 10 March 2023 the UK committed to ease the travel of school groups to the UK by making changes to documentary requirements for schoolchildren on organised trips from France.
France and the UK further agreed to establish a Mobility Dialogue through a Technical Working Group under joint ministerial oversight to address bilateral mobility issues. The first of these was held in early June.
Work is now underway to operationalise these arrangements and more information will be provided in due course.