Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to issue guidance on the protection of children under the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Nationality and Borders Act is part of our New Plan for Immigration, delivering the most comprehensive reform of the asylum system in decades.
An Equality Impact Assessment was published on 16 September, as part of the then Nationality and Borders Bill, and this includes consideration of possible impacts on children. The Equality Impact Assessment can be found on the GOV.UK website; https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-nationality-and-borders-bill-equality-impact-assessment.
This was informed by a public consultation, the Government’s response for which is also published: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/new-plan-for-immigration.
Home Office guidance is regularly reviewed by respective policy teams and any such changes are made when appropriate.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what protections for children are included in the Nationality and Borders Act 2022; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Nationality and Borders Act is part of our New Plan for Immigration, delivering the most comprehensive reform of the asylum system in decades.
An Equality Impact Assessment was published on 16 September, as part of the then Nationality and Borders Bill, and this includes consideration of possible impacts on children. The Equality Impact Assessment can be found on the GOV.UK website; https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-nationality-and-borders-bill-equality-impact-assessment.
This was informed by a public consultation, the Government’s response for which is also published: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/new-plan-for-immigration.
Home Office guidance is regularly reviewed by respective policy teams and any such changes are made when appropriate.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her oral contribution of 19 April 2022, Official Report, column 41, what the evidential basis is for the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 putting safe and legal routes into statute; and to which clauses of that Bill she was referring.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Nationality and Borders Act 2022 is part of our New Plan for Immigration, delivering the most comprehensive reform of the asylum system in decades. This Act strengthens the Government-backed routes available to those in need, so they do not have to put their lives in the hands of people smugglers.
As part of the New Plan for Immigration, we are continuing to provide safe and legal routes through the UK Resettlement Scheme, the Community Sponsorship Scheme, the Mandate Resettlement Scheme, the Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme, the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy and an Immigration Route for British National (Overseas) status holders from Hong Kong.
This Government is committed to continue welcoming refugees and others in need of protection from around the globe through resettlement as capacity allows in the years to come.
It is through the New Plan for Immigration we have been able to support the brave people of Ukraine, with over 100,000 visas being issued allowing them to come to the UK.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's proposal to use a hotel in E10 to house asylum seekers, when her Department plans to put in place (a) details of additional support provided by her Department to the local authority, (b) proposals to support local services experiencing additional demand and (c) proposals to ensure that hotel residents are able to move from that premises into longer term accommodation.
Answered by Kevin Foster
On 13th April 2022, The Minister for Safe and Legal Migration announced with immediate effect we would move to a full model for dispersal, to end our reliance on the use of contingency accommodation.
We have committed to working with local authorities to move to a fairer distribution of asylum seekers. All local authority areas in England, Scotland and Wales will be expected to participate in the new system process to allow us to move from hotels to less expensive and more suitable dispersed accommodation.
The full dispersal procurement process will run in two parts
a. Continued Procurement is effective from the 13th of April and will run until Regional Allocation plans are agreed. This is in place to ensure we are progressing with procurement in the absence of Regional Allocation plans.
b. Procurement against Regional Allocation Plans which will commence from the 15th of July or in advance pertaining to agreement on regional allocation plans and once the allocations are confirmed and shared.
We are committed to working with local authorities to move to a fairer distribution of asylum seekers and so during the week of 9 May, we launched an informal consultation. This will help to design how the full dispersal system will operate in each region. Participants will include Devolved Governments, Local Authorities and Non-Government Organisations who have an interest in asylum dispersal and resettlement. This consultation will run for 8 weeks.
To recognise the existing contribution and longstanding support from local authorities, each local authority in England, Scotland and Wales which was accommodating asylum seekers on 27 March 2022 will receive a £250 one off payment per asylum seeker.
In addition, further funding has been made available for 2022/2023 to provide £3,500 for each new dispersal bed space occupied, in both new and existing dispersal areas, between 28 March 2022 and 31 March 2023. This funding can be used to implement and/or bolster services in both new and existing areas. This will alleviate some pressures on local authorities and will ensure every local authority plays its part in this important work. Funding is also available for primary care through clinical commissioning groups.
The Government is fixing the broken asylum system through the work of the Nationality and Borders Bill. The asylum accommodation system is under enormous pressure because of the significant and sustained increase in asylum intake over the last 12 months and the build-up of the population as a result of Covid-19 related measures, which is placing unsustainable pressure on a limited number of local authorities.
This has resulted in the Home Office having to source temporary contingency accommodation, such as the hotels in E10. The use of hotel contingency is only ever a short term solution and we are working with our accommodation providers to find appropriate dispersed accommodation across the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Peter Bone (Independent - Wellingborough)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) the Welsh Government on tackling human trafficking in Wales.
Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales
The Nationality and Borders Act provides clarity on human trafficking victims’ rights and entitlements, it goes further in supporting the victims of this horrendous crime and reduces the opportunity for the system to be abused. We will continue to engage with the Welsh Government on this, and the Modern Slavery Bill will be introduced in due course.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in what timeframe she expects her Department's average processing times for asylum applications to be completed within six months.
Answered by Kevin Foster
As part of work to fix our broken asylum system via the New Plan for Immigration, Asylum Operations are working to reintroduce a service standard, which will be supported by the passage of the Nationality and Borders Bill ensuring we can focus resources on those who need our support, rather than those seeking to game the system by making repeated applications designed to frustrate their removal from the UK.
Our intention to reintroducing a service standard aligning with the recommendation from the recent Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration’s (ICIBI) published report - An inspection of asylum casework (November 2021).
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why they have rejected the pleas of over 1,000 faith leaders in England, Scotland and Wales to amend the Nationality and Borders Bill to (1) expand family reunion rules, (2) open new safe routes for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in Europe, and (3) create and implement ambitious new resettlement schemes.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the evidential basis is for her statement that the Nationality and Borders Bill puts safe and legal routes into statute, and to which clauses of that Bill she was referring, during the statement on the global migration challenge, 19 April 2022, Official Report, col 41.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to proposals in the Nationality and Borders Bill on Differential treatment for refugees, if she will make it her policy that good cause must be interpreted in the context of international law including the Refugee Convention.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The detail of the Government’s differentiation policy will be set out in guidance in due course. The Home Office has solicited views on the guidance from a wide range of external stakeholders, which are currently under careful consideration.
Decision makers will always be expected to consider the individual circumstances and vulnerabilities of an asylum seeker as a part of a grouping decision.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to proposals in the Nationality and Borders Bill on Differential treatment for refugees, if she will make it her policy to ensure that that decision makers have discretion to grant a more generous form of leave even to someone who does not meet the criteria for a group one refugee.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The detail of the Government’s differentiation policy will be set out in guidance in due course. The Home Office has solicited views on the guidance from a wide range of external stakeholders, which are currently under careful consideration.
Decision makers will always be expected to consider the individual circumstances and vulnerabilities of an asylum seeker as a part of a grouping decision.