Asked by: Lord Tyrie (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of Hong Kong asylum seekers are in temporary accommodation; and what proportion of those have no access to Wi-Fi.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
As of 10/03/2023, there are 52 Asylum Seekers in the Asylum Support Scheme with a Hong Kong nationality out of a total 108,700 Asylum Seekers. 22 of these 52 are currently in temporary accommodation.
All service users are entitled to access Wi-Fi wherever it is available with no restrictions placed on them accessing these services by the Home Office.
In 2022, 17 initial decisions were made on applications from Hong Kong nationals, 4 initial decisions were made on applications from Ukrainian nationals and 1,842 initial decisions were made on applications from Afghanistan nationals.
As at 31 Dec 2022, 115 Hong Kong nationals had been awaiting an initial decision for more than 6 months while 11 had been waiting 6 months or less (main applicants only). Please note that any further breakdowns in wait time are not published.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to arrange preliminary interviews for Afghan and Syrian refugees seeking asylum in Britain in (1) France, and (2) Belgium.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
There is no provision within our Immigration Rules for someone to be allowed to travel to the UK to seek asylum or temporary refuge. Whilst the Home Office sympathises with individuals in many difficult situations around the world, it is not bound to consider asylum claims from the very large numbers of people overseas who might like to come here. Those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach – that is the fastest route to safety.
Our resettlement schemes already provide safe and legal routes for tens of thousands of people to start new lives in the UK. The UK welcomes people at risk through the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Mandate Resettlement Scheme, Community Sponsorship and the Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to open up safe routes for people seeking refuge to come to the UK.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The UK has a proud record of providing protection for people fleeing war and persecution. Between 2015 and December 2022, just under half a million (481,804) people were offered safe and legal routes into the UK.
In addition to dedicated resettlement schemes for Syria, Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Ukraine, the UK has welcomed refugees and people in need around the world through the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship, the Mandate Resettlement Scheme, and Family Reunion.
It is not right that control of national borders should be suspended to allow people who have already reached safety in countries with fully functioning asylum systems, to travel further to another country as a matter of preference. This undermines the broader immigration system, and encourages people to fund criminal gangs and to risk their lives trying to get to the UK in unseaworthy vessels or packed dangerously into cars and lorries. Moreover, it diverts our finite resources from those who are most in need of assistance.
As outlined by the Prime Minister, as we tackle illegal migration, we will be able to bring forward more safe and legal routes.
Asked by: Harriet Harman (Labour - Camberwell and Peckham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what resources are being provided to support asylum seekers required to fill in the 11 page questionnaire in English and return it within 20 days.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Streamlined Asylum Process policy guidance was published on 23 February 2023 (Streamlined asylum processing - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)). On the same day, questionnaires began to be sent out to legacy claimants from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Libya, Syria and Yemen to their most recently recorded correspondence address. These countries have been included in the streamlined asylum process on the basis of their high-grant rate of 95% or higher and over 100 grants in the year-ending September 2022 of protection status (refugee status or humanitarian protection). All questionnaires should be dispatched to eligible claimants by the end of March 2023.
The asylum claim questionnaires are in English as is generally the case for immigration paperwork across the Department. If necessary, claimants can utilise legal representatives, Non-Government Organisations and other support networks to help them respond to the questionnaire. For those who are unable to return the questionnaire within 20 working days, a reminder will be sent to the claimant allowing a further 10-working days to complete and return it to the Home Office. A further extension can be requested where the timeframe cannot be met, for example because the claimant has serious medical conditions which is impacting their ability to respond to the questionnaire.
The intention of these questionnaires is to enable claimants to provide any further information about their claims after their initial screening interview upon arrival.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to require written asylum applications to be submitted in English.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
12,000 asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Syria, Yemen, and Libya who lodged asylum claims before 28 June 2022 will be considered through a Streamlined Asylum Process. This will involve eligible claimants being sent a questionnaire asking them to provide all the necessary information so claims can be considered more quickly. This will speed up decisions for those in genuine need, ending the uncertainty over their future, and help us remove people with no right to be here.
It is standard practice for the Home Office to issue correspondence and questionnaires to asylum claimants in English. This is to avoid responses being received in other languages.
Asylum claims will continue to be considered on a case-by-case basis against published Immigration Rules, policy guidance and country information. These five nationalities had a grant rate of over 95% in the year-ending September 2022, therefore it is right to accelerate the processing of these claims where appropriate. An automatic grant of protection status for these countries is certainly not guaranteed – all individuals will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and an interview will follow the questionnaire if more information is needed.
All individuals will have already undergone a screening interview, including criminal checks and will have their biometrics, such as their fingerprints, taken before they can be considered for a grant of protection status.
If individuals do not reply to the questionnaire, and the Home Office is unable to trace them, their claim could be withdrawn.
We will respond to the correspondence from the Chartered Institute of Linguists and the Institute of Translation and Interpreting in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the letter to the Minister of State for Immigration from the Chartered Institute of Linguists and the Institute of Translation and Interpreting on 27 February about the use of online translation tools to assist written asylum applications.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
12,000 asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Syria, Yemen, and Libya who lodged asylum claims before 28 June 2022 will be considered through a Streamlined Asylum Process. This will involve eligible claimants being sent a questionnaire asking them to provide all the necessary information so claims can be considered more quickly. This will speed up decisions for those in genuine need, ending the uncertainty over their future, and help us remove people with no right to be here.
It is standard practice for the Home Office to issue correspondence and questionnaires to asylum claimants in English. This is to avoid responses being received in other languages.
Asylum claims will continue to be considered on a case-by-case basis against published Immigration Rules, policy guidance and country information. These five nationalities had a grant rate of over 95% in the year-ending September 2022, therefore it is right to accelerate the processing of these claims where appropriate. An automatic grant of protection status for these countries is certainly not guaranteed – all individuals will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and an interview will follow the questionnaire if more information is needed.
All individuals will have already undergone a screening interview, including criminal checks and will have their biometrics, such as their fingerprints, taken before they can be considered for a grant of protection status.
If individuals do not reply to the questionnaire, and the Home Office is unable to trace them, their claim could be withdrawn.
We will respond to the correspondence from the Chartered Institute of Linguists and the Institute of Translation and Interpreting in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the use of online translation tools to assist written asylum applications on the level of appeals against asylum decisions.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
12,000 asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Syria, Yemen, and Libya who lodged asylum claims before 28 June 2022 will be considered through a Streamlined Asylum Process. This will involve eligible claimants being sent a questionnaire asking them to provide all the necessary information so claims can be considered more quickly. This will speed up decisions for those in genuine need, ending the uncertainty over their future, and help us remove people with no right to be here.
It is standard practice for the Home Office to issue correspondence and questionnaires to asylum claimants in English. This is to avoid responses being received in other languages.
Asylum claims will continue to be considered on a case-by-case basis against published Immigration Rules, policy guidance and country information. These five nationalities had a grant rate of over 95% in the year-ending September 2022, therefore it is right to accelerate the processing of these claims where appropriate. An automatic grant of protection status for these countries is certainly not guaranteed – all individuals will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and an interview will follow the questionnaire if more information is needed.
All individuals will have already undergone a screening interview, including criminal checks and will have their biometrics, such as their fingerprints, taken before they can be considered for a grant of protection status.
If individuals do not reply to the questionnaire, and the Home Office is unable to trace them, their claim could be withdrawn.
We will respond to the correspondence from the Chartered Institute of Linguists and the Institute of Translation and Interpreting in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide public service interpreters to assist asylum seekers if they are required to submit a written asylum application in English.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
12,000 asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Syria, Yemen, and Libya who lodged asylum claims before 28 June 2022 will be considered through a Streamlined Asylum Process. This will involve eligible claimants being sent a questionnaire asking them to provide all the necessary information so claims can be considered more quickly. This will speed up decisions for those in genuine need, ending the uncertainty over their future, and help us remove people with no right to be here.
It is standard practice for the Home Office to issue correspondence and questionnaires to asylum claimants in English. This is to avoid responses being received in other languages.
Asylum claims will continue to be considered on a case-by-case basis against published Immigration Rules, policy guidance and country information. These five nationalities had a grant rate of over 95% in the year-ending September 2022, therefore it is right to accelerate the processing of these claims where appropriate. An automatic grant of protection status for these countries is certainly not guaranteed – all individuals will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and an interview will follow the questionnaire if more information is needed.
All individuals will have already undergone a screening interview, including criminal checks and will have their biometrics, such as their fingerprints, taken before they can be considered for a grant of protection status.
If individuals do not reply to the questionnaire, and the Home Office is unable to trace them, their claim could be withdrawn.
We will respond to the correspondence from the Chartered Institute of Linguists and the Institute of Translation and Interpreting in due course.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum applications are awaiting decision by her Department from Afghan nationals whose spouse has already been granted asylum in the UK; and if she will provide a breakdown of locations from which applications have been made.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum applications awaiting a decision by nationality can be found in table Asy_D03 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. Please note the data show a snapshot as at the last day of each quarter, rather than the number of asylum applications awaiting a decision over the entire quarter. The latest data relates to as at 31 December 2022. Data as at 31 March 2023 will be published on 25 May 2023. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
This data is not available broken down by outcomes received by family members.
Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, as well as quality and availability of data.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent evidential basis they have used when adopting a policy of not interviewing potential asylum seekers from (1) Afghanistan, (2) Eritrea, (3) Syria, (4) Yemen, and (5) Libya, in order to reduce the backlog of applications.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
On 13 December 2022, the Prime Minister pledged to clear the backlog of the 92,601 initial asylum ‘legacy’ claims – this relates to historical asylum claims made before 28 June 2022.
The Streamlined Asylum Process is one way in which we will clear the backlog and policy guidance on this was published on 23 February 2023 (Streamlined asylum processing - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab)). On the same day, questionnaires began to be sent out to legacy claimants from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Libya, Syria and Yemen to their most recently recorded correspondence address. These countries have been included in the streamlined asylum process on the basis of their high-grant rate of 95% or higher and over 100 grants in the year-ending September 2022 of protection status (refugee status or humanitarian protection). All questionnaires should be dispatched to eligible claimants by the end of March 2023. Claimants must inform the Home Office of any changes to their contact details, to ensure that they continue to receive all relevant communications regarding their claim.
The asylum claim questionnaires are in English as is generally the case for immigration paperwork across the Department. If necessary, claimants can utilise legal representatives, Non-Government Organisations and other support networks to help them respond to the questionnaire. For those who are unable to return the questionnaire within 20 working days, a reminder will be sent to the claimant allowing a further 10-working days to complete and return it to the Home Office. A further extension can be requested where the timeframe cannot be met, for example because the claimant has serious medical conditions which is impacting their ability to respond to the questionnaire.
The intention of these questionnaires is to enable claimants to provide any further information about their claims after their initial screening interview upon arrivial. This, in turn, could lead to a positive decision being taken without an additional interview.
All individuals will have already undergone a screening interview, including criminal checks and will have their biometrics, such as their fingerprints, taken before they can be considered for a grant of protection status.