Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have absconded from immigration detention in each year since 2004.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on escapes from immigration detention in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on escapes from detention centres and absconds from escort is published by year in table Det_05a of the ‘Detention summary tables’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The published data covers the period from 2017 to 2023. Data prior to 2017 is not published. Data for the year 2024 is due to be published in the August 2025 edition of the publication.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the increasing number of migrant deaths when attempting to cross the English Channel.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Channel crossing attempts by migrants in small boats have always been lethally dangerous, with the Channel being a very busy shipping lane. The first recorded fatalities occurred in August 2019. Since the start of 2024, there have been 12 fatal incidents involving the deaths of 37 people. Crossings are getting more and more dangerous as time goes on, with the danger and the risk rising as quality of boats deteriorates and more people are crammed on board.
The ‘vessels’ used to make these crossings are not of commercial manufacture. They are poorly constructed, from cheap and flimsy materials, are unseaworthy, underpowered, and lack safety equipment. They founder frequently, and for each fatal incident there are plenty of other near misses where boats have begun to deflate and people have gone in the water.
The criminal gangs who facilitate these crossings have no interest in the welfare of their clients, only in the pursuit of profit. It is for this reason that boats are increasingly seen to be overcrowded, with the most vulnerable packed into the middle of the boat where crushing and other injuries, such as fuel burns, become more likely.
We are working closely with the French to reduce the risk to life from these crossings and with partners across Europe to bring the evil people smuggling gangs to justice.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Reform UK - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many positions in her Department included (a) diversity, (b) inclusion, (c) equity and (d) equality in their job title in each of the last five years; and what the total cost of the salaries of each such job was in each of those years.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Home Office does not routinely collate information on specific words and collating this information would come at a disproportionate cost.
Information on spending and staffing can be found in the Department's annual report and accounts.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which 10 local authorities in the UK had the most asylum seekers in the most recent year for which figures are available, and how much funding each of those 10 local authorities received to support asylum seekers.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly. This includes our accommodation sites, as the Home Office continues to identify a range of options to minimise the use of expensive hotels and ensure better use of public money, whilst maintaining sufficient accommodation to meet demand.
The most recent data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, at: Asy_D11 Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The Home Office has had various grants through which we provide funds to support local authorities housing asylum seekers.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which 10 local authorities in the UK had the most asylum seekers supported by the Home Office by proportion of population in the most recent year for which figures are available.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly. This includes our accommodation sites, as the Home Office continues to identify a range of options to minimise the use of expensive hotels and ensure better use of public money, whilst maintaining sufficient accommodation to meet demand.
The most recent data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, at: Asy_D11 Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The Home Office has had various grants through which we provide funds to support local authorities housing asylum seekers.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost was to the public purse of (a) legal fees and (b) related costs incurred for the rejection of freedom of information requests between 30 March 2020 and 9 September 2024 seeking the publication of the report entitled, The Historical Roots of the Windrush Scandal.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We do not know the total legal fees incurred as we have not yet been billed for the complete period between 30 March 2020 to 9 September 2024, but we expect the final cost to be in the region of £20,000-£22,500. There was no awarding of costs in the First Tier Tribunal judgment that the Department must disclose the Historical Roots of the Windrush Scandal report. The only other costs incurred were Home Office officials’ time.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of using the Accreditation UK scheme for institutions providing courses to students on a Sponsored Study visa.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
International students using the student and child student routes must be sponsored by an education provider that holds a Student sponsor licence.
Education providers wishing to sponsor international students must obtain and maintain a Home Office Sponsor licence to do so and must be assessed for educational quality by an Educational Oversight body. We keep our immigration policies and Student sponsorship system under constant review.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of former asylum applicants who have withdrawn their applications (a) have left the country and (b) her Department knew the location of in each year since 2015.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not routinely publish the information you have requested, we are unable to provide this information, as it could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) names and (b) addresses are of all test centres used for the Life in the UK Test.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The full list of Life in the UK test centres as of 10 September 2024 is as follows:
Name of test centre | Address | Town/City | Postcode |
PSI @ North East Scotland College | Ground Floor, North East Scotland College, Gallowgate | Aberdeen | AB25 1BN |
People 1st Belfast | Rosemont, 89 Malone Road, | Belfast | BT9 6SP |
PSI Birmingham | Gateway House, 3rd Floor, 50-53 High Street | Birmingham | B4 7SY |
Community Training Portal Blackburn | Suite 15, Kings Court, Kings Street, | Blackburn | BB2 2DH |
MTS@Vantage Point, Brighton | 7th floor, Vantage Point, New England Rd, Brighton | Brighton | BN1 4GW |
Pitman/go train Bristol | Unit 9, Hide Market, Waterloo Road, St Philips | Bristol | BS2 0PL |
MTS Cardiff | 5th Floor, 5-7 Market Chambers, 5-7 St Marys Street | Cardiff | CF10 1AT |
MTS Coventry | 1st floor, 101 Lockhurst Lane | Coventry | CV6 5SF |
PSI Croydon | 8th Floor, Grosvenor House, 125 High Street | Croydon | CR0 9XP |
MTS @ Edinburgh | 40 Sciennes, Newington | Edinburgh | EH9 1NJ |
Episkopi e-LC | Episkopi LC | Episkopi/Cyprus | BFPO 58 |
We Can Train Pitman | Exam rooms Park Five Business Centre, Harrier Way, Sowton Industrial Estate | Exeter | EX2 7HU |
PSI Glasgow | Adelphi Centre, 12 Commercial Road | Glasgow | G5 0PQ |
Iranian Association | 222 King Street, Hammersmith | Hammersmith | W6 0RA |
Computer Learning Centre Hounslow | 65 Kingsley Road | Hounslow | TW3 1QB |
PSI Nairn Inverness | Nairn Community & Arts Centre | Inverness | IV12 4BQ |
PSI at The Hub Business Centre Ipswich | 2nd floor, Room 16a , 2 Civic Drive | Ipswich | IP1 2QA |
PSI Leeds | Part 4th Floor, Oxford House, Oxford Row | Leeds | LS1 3BE |
PSI Leicester | 5th Floor, 60 Charles Street | Leicester | LE1 1FB |
PDA (Training) Ltd Lewisham | 107-109 Lewisham High Street | Lewisham | SE13 6AT |
PSI Liverpool | 1 Union Court, 4th Floor | Liverpool | L2 4SJ |
Community Training Portal Luton | 114-134 Midland Road,Luton, | Luton | LU2 OBL |
Synod Solutions @ Maidstone | 1st floor, 114 Kestrel House, Knight Rider Street, | Maidstone | ME15 6LU |
PSI Manchester | 6th Floor, Boulton House, 17-21 Chorlton Street | Manchester | M1 3HY |
MTS Milton Keynes | Gloucester House, MTS Ground Floor , 399 Silbury Boulevard | Milton Keynes | MK9 2AH |
PSI Newcastle | Arden House, 4th Floor, Regent Centre, Gosforth | Newcastle | NE3 3LU |
PSI Norwich | Room 23-24, Ground Floor, Sackville Place, 44-48 Magdalen Street | Norwich | NR3 1JU |
Community Training Portal Nottingham | 2 Pelham Court, Pelham Road, CTP Ground Floor (Palmer House) | Nottingham | NG5 1AP |
PSI Oxford | Unit 1 (first entrance at the rear of the building), Watlington House, Watlington Road | Oxford | OX4 6NF |
PSI Penrith | Ground floor,Eden Rural Foyer,Old London Rd | Penrith | CA11 8ET |
PSI at Online Exams Peterborough | Sefton House, Adam Court, Newark Road | Peterborough | PE1 5PP |
PSI eAssessment Plymouth | Cobourg House, 3rd Floor, 32, Mayflower Street | Plymouth | PL1 1QX |
Pitman/We can train Portsmouth | Portsmouth Technopole, Kingston Crescent | Portsmouth | P02 8FA |
Preston Academy of English | 38 Ormskirk Road | Preston | PR1 2QP |
PSI Reading | Highline, 6th Floor, 30 Greyfriars Road | Reading | RG1 1PE |
PSI Sheffield | The Synergy Building, Bank Street Entrance, Bank Street, Hartshead | Sheffield | S1 2EL |
PSI Stratford | 2nd Floor, Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford, London | Stratford | E15 1NT |
Computeraid | 4th Floor, 11 Wind Street | Swansea | SA1 1DP |
Community Training Portal Watford | Suite W2 & W3 Victoria House, 45-47 Vicarage Road | Watford | WD18 0DE |
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that the right to British citizenship under the British Nationality Act 1981 is not confused or conflated with the powers and discretion delegated to the Home Secretary to manage the immigration system including naturalisation of adult migrants.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
In line with the duties introduced by the Equality Act 2010, the Home Office undertakes an equality impact assessment whenever decisions are taken on policy relating to registering statutory rights to British citizenship. Most recently, equality impact assessments were undertaken when changes were made to Section 3(1) British Nationality Act 1981 and on the introduction of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.
There are various provisions within the British Nationality Act 1981 that allow for children born in the UK to register as British citizens. The Home Office has published clear and easy to follow guidance for applications under each of these sections. Home Office caseworkers are trained to carry out their duties to ensure that those who apply and meet the statutory requirements are granted citizenship.