Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
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 allowing (a) EU school children entry to the UK on a collective passport scheme and (b) EU citizens to travel to the UK using an national ID Card from an EU country.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The UK is a signatory to the 1961 Council of Europe treaty which provides for collective passports for young people. Continued acceptance of these passports from those who have ratified the treaty is current practice. The UK has not left the Council of Europe.
The UK has left the EU, ended free movement and is aligning the entry of EU and non-EU citizens. Citizens from outside the EU (and other EEA countries and Switzerland) cannot use national identity cards for travel to the UK and EEA national identity cards are, as a rule, less secure documents than national passports, hence they dominate the figures for document abuse detected at the border. Our assessment is therefore their continued use presents a risk to border security which we are no longer obliged to accept.
All visitors from outside the EU are expected to hold a passport (and visa where necessary) and those visiting from EU countries will be expected to do the same.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect on working parents who rely on au pairs for childcare of the decision not to grant a dedicated immigration route for au pairs from the EU.
Answered by Kevin Foster
As has been the case since 2008, successive governments have decided the UK’s immigration system should not offer a dedicated visa route for au pairs.
Those who wish to employ an au pair can either look to offer a package which makes it attractive to those with general rights to work in the UK, such as those who arrive under our Youth Mobility Schemes, or dependants of people already settled in the UK, or use the wide range of childcare options in the UK relied upon by most families.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the National Transfer Scheme will restart; and when the outcome of the review of that scheme will be published.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The National Transfer Scheme never stopped. I am very grateful for the ongoing assistance of many local authorities. In 2020, the National Transfer Scheme (NTS) placed 480 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children into local authority placements across the UK.
We recently consulted on a more sustainable long-term future model for the NTS designed to ensure unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are placed in an equitable and fair manner in local authorities across the UK.
I am grateful to local authorities for their thoughtful and considered consultation responses. We received over 200 responses, including some which captured the views and experiences of young people. It is crucial that we get the new scheme right. We are carefully considering the responses and working through the issues raised with local government partners. We are aiming to deliver the new scheme as soon as possible.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the implications for her policies of reports of poor and unsafe living conditions for migrants in (a) Napier Barracks in Folkestone and (b) Penally Training Camp in Pembrokeshire; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
A rapid review of asylum accommodation came out of a series of Cabinet Office Covid-19 taskforce visits to asylum accommodation and a recommendation that the Home Office conduct a ‘deep dive’ on our approach to initial accommodation during Covid.
The Home Office is reviewing the recommendations of the rapid review and, as previously stated, will seek to publish a summary of the recommendations. We will also hold round tables with stakeholders to discuss the recommendations, actions taken and proposed next steps.
The Napier Barracks and Penally training camp sites have been in operation for almost three months. They are fit for purpose, safe and equipped in line with existing contractual requirements for asylum accommodation. We continue to work closely with our provider and partners to identify opportunities for improvement, as we do across our entire accommodation estate.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve conditions for migrants at (a) Napier Barracks in Folkestone and (b) Penally Training Camp in Pembrokeshire.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
A rapid review of asylum accommodation came out of a series of Cabinet Office Covid-19 taskforce visits to asylum accommodation and a recommendation that the Home Office conduct a ‘deep dive’ on our approach to initial accommodation during Covid.
The Home Office is reviewing the recommendations of the rapid review and, as previously stated, will seek to publish a summary of the recommendations. We will also hold round tables with stakeholders to discuss the recommendations, actions taken and proposed next steps.
The Napier Barracks and Penally training camp sites have been in operation for almost three months. They are fit for purpose, safe and equipped in line with existing contractual requirements for asylum accommodation. We continue to work closely with our provider and partners to identify opportunities for improvement, as we do across our entire accommodation estate.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate his Department has made of the number of children of (a) families with no recourse to public funds, (b) Zambrano carers, (c) families with no recourse to public funds with a right to remain in the UK on grounds of private and family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and (d) families receiving support under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 who are also subject to a no recourse to public funds restriction.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not record cases by family member status and therefore cannot provide the information on the total number of visa-holding children whose family have no recourse to public funds. In the year ending September 2020, there were 336,925 extensions of stay in the UK granted, the majority of which would have the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition imposed. See Exe_01: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/938919/extensions-summary-sep-2020-tables.xlsx |
The Home Office does not hold data on how many Zambrano carers or families with a right to remain in the UK under Article 8 of the ECHR that have no recourse to public funds are currently leave holders in the UK. Furthermore, we do not record information on families receiving support under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989, although such information if provided would be taken into consideration for Change of Circumstances and Fee Waiver applications.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps have been taken to reduce the transmission of covid-19 in immigrant removal centres.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Immigration Enforcement responded quickly to the risks presented at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and continues to follow the latest guidance from Public Health England (PHE). This has been supported by the High Court, which ruled on 26 March that our approach to detention and Covid-19 was sensible, with the appropriate precautionary measures in place. The safety of detained individuals and our staff are our utmost priority.
All immigration removal centres (IRCs) have dedicated health facilities run by doctors and nurses which are managed by the NHS or appropriate providers. Detained individuals arriving at IRCs are medically assessed by a nurse within two hours of their arrival, are offered an appointment with a doctor within 24 hours and have access to medical assistance throughout their detention. Additionally receptions to Heathrow, Gatwick and Yarl’s Wood are offered a Covid-19 test on arrival at the IRC.
Everyone entering an IRC spends a minimum of 14 days on a ‘reverse cohorting’ unit; this is dedicated accommodation designed to prevent an asymptomatic individual transmitting the virus to the wider centre population. Reverse cohorting is supported by further measures such as single occupancy rooms in all IRCs and the cessation of social visits. Protective shielding is available to those who are deemed medically high or very high risk.
Since Wednesday 21 October 2020, all staff and visitors to IRCs and short term holding facilities are required to wear a face mask, at all times, when undertaking direct contact duties with those detained and when in the main centre or holding facility.
The mental health of detained individuals is equally important to physical health; IRC residents are being encouraged to utilise virtual means of social contact including mobile telephone (for which additional phone credit is being provided on a weekly basis), video calling and email. Risk-assessed activities are available in all centres to support mental well-being.
We are confident that these collective measures have contributed to minimising the impact of Covid-19 on our estate and keeping those in detention and the staff who work there safe.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that people who are being considered for deportation have access to (a) sufficient legal support and (b) contact with family members.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Those being deported will have been provided with the opportunity to raise claims, prior to their deportation. The UK only ever returns those who the Home Office and, where applicable, the courts are satisfied do not need our protection and have no legal basis to remain in the UK. Any new legal representations made whilst an individual is detained are considered carefully and in accordance with the law.
Detained individuals are advised of their right to legal representation, and how they can obtain such representation, within 24 hours of their arrival at an Immigration Removal Centre (IRC).
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) operates free legal advice surgeries in IRCs in England. Individuals who are detained are entitled to receive up to 30 minutes of advice regardless of financial eligibility or the merits of their case. There is no restriction on the number of surgeries an individual may attend. If an individual who is detained requires substantive advice on a matter which is in scope of legal aid, full legal advice can be provided if the statutory legal aid means and merits criteria are met. Following a change of operations in line with Government advice on social distancing, the LAA Detained Duty Advice scheme is currently operating by phone. Detained individuals who wish to access this service are asked to advise centre staff, who will notify the duty solicitor under the scheme. The duty solicitor will contact the individual directly.
All individuals in immigration removal centres are provided with a mobile phone and have access to landline telephones, fax machines, email and video calling facilities which can be used to contact legal advisers. Social visits to IRCs and Short-Term Holding Facilities have been paused in light with the latest Government restrictions. Detained individuals are being encouraged to utilise virtual means of social contact including video calling, email and mobile telephone; additional weekly mobile phone credit is being provided to support continued social contact in these unprecedented times.
In exceptional circumstances, and for individuals facing imminent removal from the UK face to face legal and social visits can occur where other means of contact (video calling, telephone, email) are not feasible.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to collect data on the incidence of crime against children during the lockdown restrictions due to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
We have worked closely with our partners to monitor the crime impacts of COVID-19, drawing on data and evidence provided by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), the National Crime Agency (NCA), third sector partners and other sector stakeholders.
We will continue to work closely with the police to monitor the situation as social distancing measures evolve. We remain fully committed to ensure that law enforcement agencies have the resources and powers they need to keep the public safe.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in each of the last six months how many health and care workers have (a) paid the immigration health surcharge, (b) applied for a refund for that charge and (c) been successfully refunded.
Answered by Kevin Foster
This information is not readily available nor held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost due to the fact the IHS is payable across multiple application routes. For example, where the customer is on a visa with a general right to work and subsequently takes up employment, we do not have a record who the employer is.
Since the Prime Minister’s announcement, we have been working at pace to identify and issue refunds to those customers who are eligible and hold Tier 2 (General) visas.