Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an estimate with Cabinet colleagues of the number of Afghans in Pakistan who are eligible for reunification with family members resident in the UK under the (a) Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy and (b) Afghan citizens resettlement scheme.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Government remains committed to providing protection for vulnerable and at-risk people fleeing Afghanistan. This includes eligible immediate family members of those being resettled under both the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS).
Public data on the number of Afghans in Pakistan who are eligible to join family members already resettled under both the ARAP and ACRS is unavailable. However; the latest published statistics, summarised at Afghan Resettlement Programme: operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), show that, at the end of December 2023, 14,423 people have been relocated to the UK under the ARAP so far, and a further 10,520 have been relocated under ACRS.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that facial recognition systems are used in a way that maintains the right of the privacy for members of the public.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Facial recognition technology is used by the police as an identification tool to search an image of an unknown suspect against the images of people taken on arrest and get results in minutes, or to locate people in an intelligence-led way, by scanning live crowds and comparing them with the images of wanted people on a specific watchlist instantaneously, with very high levels of accuracy.
The Government supports police use of the technology, which has been helping them to catch criminals, including murderers and rapists, more quickly and accurately. But it is important that the police use it appropriately and there are safeguards in place to ensure this.
There is a comprehensive legal framework governing its use. This includes the Data Protection Act 2018, Human Rights Act 1998, Equality Act 2010, Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, national guidance, and published police policies. This means that it can only be used for a policing purpose, where necessary, proportionate and fair.
We have ensured that there is effective oversight in this space. The Information Commissioner’s Office, which is sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, is responsible for upholding data privacy rights. It has issued guidance on facial recognition and has enforcement powers. The Equality and Human Rights Commission, which is sponsored by the Cabinet Office, is responsible for upholding equality and human rights and is also active in this space. His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services is responsible for inspecting, monitoring and reporting on the efficiency and effectiveness of police forces. The courts system also provide oversight in this area.
We supported the College of Policing to publish an Authorised Professional Practice (APP) setting out how police forces should use live facial recognition and minimise interference with data privacy, equalities and human rights. The APP includes details on when the police can use it, the categories of people they can look for, the requirement for immediate deletion of unmatched biometric data, and the need to explain how issues such as privacy and equality are addressed.
We published a factsheet on police use of facial recognition and explained the different use cases, the safeguards, success stories and legal basis. https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2023/10/29/police-use-of-facial-recognition-factsheet/
We also provided funding to the National Physical Laboratory to independently test the algorithms being used by South Wales Police and the Metropolitan Police Service. They found that the algorithms both forces have been using to be highly accurate and fair at the settings they use.
We are also undertaking more evaluation work to enhance our understanding of the impact of facial recognition and ensure we are able to continue to balance the benefits against the potential intrusion on privacy.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of removing minimum income thresholds for spouse/partner visas.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We do not intend to remove the Minimum Income Requirement (MIR) for spouse / partner visas under Appendix FM to the Immigration Rules.
The purpose of the MIR, implemented in July 2012 along with other reforms of the family Immigration Rules, is to ensure family migrants are supported at a reasonable level so they do not become a burden on the taxpayer and they can participate sufficiently in everyday life to facilitate their integration into British society.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government provides support for young people who have been arrested for rough sleeping under the Vagrancy Act.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has made the unprecedented commitment to end rough sleeping within this Parliament and to fully enforce the Homelessness Reduction Act. We have already embarked on a strategy to shift the focus to prevention and move vulnerable individuals into multi-agency support, backed by £2.4 billion over three years.
The government’s ‘Ending Rough Sleeping for Good’ strategy published in 2022 recognises that young people face particular challenges in accessing and maintaining accommodation. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is funding £2.5 million is being provided through the Rough Sleeping Initiative 2022-25 to fund youth services in local areas. The youth interventions provide funding to 8 local authorities across England to develop specialist youth support such as outreach workers, prevention officers and specialist housing for those under 25. The Single Homelessness Accommodation Programme (SHAP) is also delivering over 2,000 homes by March 2025, including 650 homes for young people sleeping rough or at risk of rough sleeping and funding for wrap-around support tailored to individual needs.
Where anyone is arrested, Liaison and Diversion (L&D) services have been introduced into police custody, to seek to ensure that vulnerable people are identified and offered access to the help they may need. A key component of these schemes is to provide referrals to community treatment and support services and to provide advice to police custody staff on how best to support people with these vulnerabilities.
In certain circumstances, local authorities have a duty to provide accommodation to young people in their area aged under 18 deemed ‘in need’ under the Children’s Act 1989.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of using recovered monies from the proceeds of crime to provide adaptive sports equipment for police officers.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Funds recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) are distributed under the Home Office’s Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS). The objective of ARIS is to provide agencies with incentives to use POCA powers to recover more criminal assets, with the overall aim of cutting crime and delivering justice.
Under the scheme, a proportion of the assets recovered using powers under POCA are redistributed to the agencies involved in the recovery, based on their relative contributions. The current allocation sees ARIS receipts split 50:50 between central government and operational partners.
In the spirit of the Scheme, the Government encourages agencies to use ARIS funds to increase asset recovery and, where appropriate, fund local crime fighting priorities for the benefit of the community. However, the use of ARIS allocations/payments is a matter for each agency and is left to their discretion. Further information on ARIS and how funds are spent can be found at: Asset Recovery Statistical Bulletin: Financial years ending March 2018 to March 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when his Department plans to respond to the letter of 21 February 2024 from the Hon. Member for Hull West and Hessle on behalf of a constituent regarding protocol for notifiable associations.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire responded on 16 April 2024.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the passport application process for adopted people who do not have access to parental birth records.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
His Majesty’s Passport Office engages with customers on a case-by-case basis where they tell us they are unable to obtain supporting documents, including adopted persons who are unable to access birth records.
Published HM Passport Office guidance provides advice to customers and passport examiners in considering these cases and what alternative evidence can be accepted when required.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 23 February 2023 to Question 126744, when he expects to appoint a new anti-corruption champion.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
A new Anti-Corruption Champion will be appointed in due course.
Please refer to the recent Question 902335 by the Member for North East Fife, for information on the Anti-Corruption Strategy.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many employers held visa sponsorship licences in (a) 2020, (b) 2021, (c) 2022 and (d) 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office publishes the latest register of worker and temporary worker licensed sponsors at: Register of licensed sponsors: workers - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) This is a live document that is continually updated.
Data that has been updated quarterly since 2014 and includes the number of valid sponsor licences, can be found at: Sponsorship transparency data: Q4 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
The number of organisations annually on the register of sponsors can also be found under Sponsorship Summary Tables at: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including hospitality roles on the immigration salary list.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Government intend to commission the MAC to undertake a full review of the Immigration Salary List. The Government will carefully consider their recommendations once received.