Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to require courts to abide by domestic law over (a) policies promoted by UN agencies and (b) non-legally binding international agreements.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
As the Prime Minister has said, it is Parliament that enacts the law on immigration, and it is Government that makes the policy (Official Report, column 249). It is an enduring strength of our democracy that when judges apply the law, they decide cases impartially, independently, and free from any external or political influence or pressure. There is a robust appellate system to deal with matters arising from a decision.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the independence of the courts from external influence from (a) UN bodies and (b) non-governmental organisations when enacting immigration law.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
As the Prime Minister has said, it is Parliament that enacts the law on immigration, and it is Government that makes the policy (Official Report, column 249). It is an enduring strength of our democracy that when judges apply the law, they decide cases impartially, independently, and free from any external or political influence or pressure. There is a robust appellate system to deal with matters arising from a decision.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps Border Security Command has taken with the banking sector to (a) prevent illicit finance and (b) reduce the profits of organised crime groups facilitating irregular migration.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
We created the Border Security Command which will apply public-private partnerships to Organised Immigration Crime (OIC) for the first time, including with the UK’s financial sector and financial institutions, to prevent the flow of illicit finance and degrade the profits of OCGs facilitating irregular migration. This will build on existing activity with banking institutions across the UK such as suspicious activity reports (SAR) which are routinely sent from UK banks to the National Crime Agency. All regulated financial institutions must make a SAR if they know or suspect, or have reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting, that a person is engaged in money laundering or terrorist financing. It is a criminal offence if an institution does not report their knowledge, suspicion or reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting.
OIC remains a global threat, with no respect for national boundaries. Tackling it requires an international response, with governments and international organisations working together to develop strategic solutions and collaborative operations, across the whole irregular migration route, from source to destination countries. As such, the Border Security Command is working in partnership with like-minded international partners such as Italy, under the UK-Italy Illicit Finance Taskforce. The UK and Italy are global leaders in disrupting economic crime and under the taskforce both nations will be sharing law enforcement strategies, policy, and expertise to maximise our disruptive effect on financial flows into the UK, Italy and across Europe.
In addition, our new irregular migration sanctions regime - a world first - will be a valuable additional capability to bring to bear against people smugglers.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to (a) issue guidance to and (b) deliver training on temporary admission procedures for entry to the UK for creative workers to Border Force officers.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Border Force officers are trained to the highest of standards to be able to carry out their role to enforce immigration policy at the border. Officers undergo several weeks of training prior to taking up their role at the primary control point, within which they are trained on all manners of immigration law and policy, including entry to the UK for creative workers.
Throughout that training, officers are continually tested to ensure they have the required skills and knowledge to carry out their role. Their skills and knowledge are then continually tested throughout their career on all aspects of immigration policy.
To qualify for entry in this category, a passenger has to meet the following criteria:
Further information on how individuals can qualify to enter the UK under this category can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/creative-worker-visa/creative-worker-concession.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the level of training for Border Force officers on temporary visas for creative workers.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Border Force officers are trained to the highest of standards to be able to carry out their role to enforce immigration policy at the border. Officers undergo several weeks of training prior to taking up their role at the primary control point, within which they are trained on all manners of immigration law and policy, including entry to the UK for creative workers.
Throughout that training, officers are continually tested to ensure they have the required skills and knowledge to carry out their role. Their skills and knowledge are then continually tested throughout their career on all aspects of immigration policy.
To qualify for entry in this category, a passenger has to meet the following criteria:
Further information on how individuals can qualify to enter the UK under this category can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/creative-worker-visa/creative-worker-concession.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of asylum claims her Department has (a) granted and (b) refused to non-religious people fleeing Afghanistan from fear of persecution in the latest period for which data is available; and whether her Department has issued guidance on handling asylum claims for (a) religious and (b) non-religious persecution.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on initial decisions on asylum claims by nationality can be found in table Asy_D02 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’. The Home Office does not publish initial decisions on asylum claims by religion.
Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. The latest data relates to the year ending June 2024. Data for the year ending September 2024 will be published on 28 November 2024.
All asylum and human rights claims, including those based on religious persecution, are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. Our guidance for considering asylum claims is available on GOV.UK at: Assessing credibility and refugee status: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Each individual assessment is made against the background of relevant case law and the latest available country of origin information. This is based on evidence taken from a wide range of reliable sources, including reputable media outlets; local, national, and international organisations, such as human rights organisations; and information from the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office. Our assessment of the situation of a given group in a given country, is set out in the relevant country policy and information note, which is available on GOV.UK at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/country-policy-and-information-notes.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 2 September (HL141), what assessment they have made of the joint report by the APPGs on Poverty and on Migration, The Effects of the UK Immigration, Asylum and Refugee Policy on Poverty, published on 30 April.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly, and fairly. Clearing the asylum backlog is our priority.
It is a financial necessity to start clearing the asylum backlog so that those costs do not continue to mount up at the expense of the taxpayer. The Home Secretary changed the law to remove the retrospective application of the Illegal Migration Act. This allows decision-makers to decide asylum claims from individuals who have arrived in the UK from 7 March 2023. Asylum interviews have commenced, and asylum claims are now being decided for individuals who arrived in the UK from 7 March 2023.
The Home Office continues to invest in a programme of transformation and business improvement initiatives to speed up and simplify decision making, reduce the time people spend in the asylum system and decrease the number of people who are awaiting an interview or decision.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has she made of the potential impact of the legislative package on Family Values and Protection of Minors being signed into law in Georgia on that country's safe state designation under the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (Amendment of List of Safe States) Regulations 2024.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Our assessment of the situation in Georgia is set out in the relevant Country Policy and Information Notes, which are available on the Gov.Uk website. The latest update on sexual orientation and gender identity was issued in September 2024 following a review commissioned by and on behalf of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration.
Section 80AA(4) of the Nationality, Immigration and Act 2002 also requires, in respect of designated countries, that the Secretary of State—
(a)must have regard to all the circumstances of the State (including its laws and how they are applied).
We will continue to monitor the situation, working closely with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Rwandan nationals have successfully applied for asylum in the UK since 2019.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on grants by nationality are published in table Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to 2023.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
The UK has a proud history of providing protection to those who need it, in accordance with our international obligations under the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Those who need protection are normally granted refugee status or humanitarian protection.
All asylum and human rights claims lodged from within the UK and admitted to the UK asylum system, including those seeking asylum from Rwanda, are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations, and against the background of relevant case law, policy guidance, and the latest available country of origin information.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberafan Maesteg)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the conclusions of the Independent Review of the Overseas Domestic Workers Visa by James Ewins, published on 16 December 2015, relating to protection of employment rights of migrant workers in private households, if he will (a) review and (b) reverse changes to the rules for that visa.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The Home Office keeps immigration route policy under review, including that for the Overseas Domestic Worker route. We have introduced a number of reforms to the route for overseas domestic workers since 2015; designed to build on existing safeguards and in line with the broader immigration system. Employers of overseas domestic workers must act in accordance with UK employment law, and workers who find themselves a victim of modern slavery are protected by the National Referral Mechanism and may be eligible to apply for permission to stay as a domestic worker who is a victim of modern slavery.