Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remark by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 3 February 2022 (HL Deb col 1070) that the 28-day moving-on period "does not start until refugees have been issued with a biometric residence permit", why they have changed their policy towards the moving-on period; and, following the policy change, what actions they will take to ensure that people granted refugee status receive their Biometric Residence Permit at the same time they are informed that their claim for asylum has been granted.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
To reduce the number of people currently accommodated in hotels and other accommodation types, and therefore reduce costs and limit the burden on the taxpayer, we are reliant upon people who are no longer eligible for asylum support leaving the asylum accommodation estate as quickly as possible. This number is increasing due to significant efforts underway to clear the asylum backlog.
An individual remains eligible for asylum support for a prescribed period from the day they are notified of the decision on their asylum claim. Where someone is given notice that their asylum claim has been granted, their appeal has been allowed or their asylum claim has been refused but they have been given leave to enter or remain, the prescribed period in legislation is 28 days. There has been no change to the prescribed period.
Individuals should make plans to move on from asylum support as quickly as possible. We offer support through Migrant Help or their partner organisation in doing this. This includes providing advice on accessing the labour market, on applying for Universal Credit and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing. Newly recognised refugees are entitled to housing assistance from their local authority and are treated as a priority need if they have children or are considered vulnerable. Individuals do not need to wait for their BRP to make a claim for benefits and are encouraged to do so as early as possible if they require them.
We are engaging the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, as well as our accommodation and support contractors including Migrant Help, on ensuring individuals can move on from asylum support as smoothly as possible.
We will consider evidence received from voluntary sector organisations and local authorities and will respond to them via the usual routes.
A notice to quit (NTQ) will only be issued once a person has been issued a biometric residence permit (BRP).
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their change of policy around the moving-on period for migrants in August 2023, what assessment they have made of the capacity of Migrant Help to provide support to refugees to navigate the move-on period through the Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility contract.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
To reduce the number of people currently accommodated in hotels and other accommodation types, and therefore reduce costs and limit the burden on the taxpayer, we are reliant upon people who are no longer eligible for asylum support leaving the asylum accommodation estate as quickly as possible. This number is increasing due to significant efforts underway to clear the asylum backlog.
An individual remains eligible for asylum support for a prescribed period from the day they are notified of the decision on their asylum claim. Where someone is given notice that their asylum claim has been granted, their appeal has been allowed or their asylum claim has been refused but they have been given leave to enter or remain, the prescribed period in legislation is 28 days. There has been no change to the prescribed period.
Individuals should make plans to move on from asylum support as quickly as possible. We offer support through Migrant Help or their partner organisation in doing this. This includes providing advice on accessing the labour market, on applying for Universal Credit and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing. Newly recognised refugees are entitled to housing assistance from their local authority and are treated as a priority need if they have children or are considered vulnerable. Individuals do not need to wait for their BRP to make a claim for benefits and are encouraged to do so as early as possible if they require them.
We are engaging the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, as well as our accommodation and support contractors including Migrant Help, on ensuring individuals can move on from asylum support as smoothly as possible.
We will consider evidence received from voluntary sector organisations and local authorities and will respond to them via the usual routes.
A notice to quit (NTQ) will only be issued once a person has been issued a biometric residence permit (BRP).
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of people granted refugee status in the second quarter of 2023 having applied for asylum were supported by the Home Office under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 at the time they received the decision on their claim.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
To reduce the number of people currently accommodated in hotels and other accommodation types, and therefore reduce costs and limit the burden on the taxpayer, we are reliant upon people who are no longer eligible for asylum support leaving the asylum accommodation estate as quickly as possible. This number is increasing due to significant efforts underway to clear the asylum backlog.
An individual remains eligible for asylum support for a prescribed period from the day they are notified of the decision on their asylum claim. Where someone is given notice that their asylum claim has been granted, their appeal has been allowed or their asylum claim has been refused but they have been given leave to enter or remain, the prescribed period in legislation is 28 days. There has been no change to the prescribed period.
Individuals should make plans to move on from asylum support as quickly as possible. We offer support through Migrant Help or their partner organisation in doing this. This includes providing advice on accessing the labour market, on applying for Universal Credit and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing. Newly recognised refugees are entitled to housing assistance from their local authority and are treated as a priority need if they have children or are considered vulnerable. Individuals do not need to wait for their BRP to make a claim for benefits and are encouraged to do so as early as possible if they require them.
We are engaging the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, as well as our accommodation and support contractors including Migrant Help, on ensuring individuals can move on from asylum support as smoothly as possible.
We will consider evidence received from voluntary sector organisations and local authorities and will respond to them via the usual routes.
A notice to quit (NTQ) will only be issued once a person has been issued a biometric residence permit (BRP).
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what evidence they have received from (1) local authorities, and (2) voluntary sector organisations, regarding the impact on refugees of the changes to the move-on period for people whose asylum claim has been granted.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
To reduce the number of people currently accommodated in hotels and other accommodation types, and therefore reduce costs and limit the burden on the taxpayer, we are reliant upon people who are no longer eligible for asylum support leaving the asylum accommodation estate as quickly as possible. This number is increasing due to significant efforts underway to clear the asylum backlog.
An individual remains eligible for asylum support for a prescribed period from the day they are notified of the decision on their asylum claim. Where someone is given notice that their asylum claim has been granted, their appeal has been allowed or their asylum claim has been refused but they have been given leave to enter or remain, the prescribed period in legislation is 28 days. There has been no change to the prescribed period.
Individuals should make plans to move on from asylum support as quickly as possible. We offer support through Migrant Help or their partner organisation in doing this. This includes providing advice on accessing the labour market, on applying for Universal Credit and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing. Newly recognised refugees are entitled to housing assistance from their local authority and are treated as a priority need if they have children or are considered vulnerable. Individuals do not need to wait for their BRP to make a claim for benefits and are encouraged to do so as early as possible if they require them.
We are engaging the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, as well as our accommodation and support contractors including Migrant Help, on ensuring individuals can move on from asylum support as smoothly as possible.
We will consider evidence received from voluntary sector organisations and local authorities and will respond to them via the usual routes.
A notice to quit (NTQ) will only be issued once a person has been issued a biometric residence permit (BRP).
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to ensure that asylum seekers who are granted refugee status in the UK are not at increased risk of homelessness and destitution as a result of recent policy changes to the ‘move-on’ process, which requires newly-recognised refugees to quit Home Office accommodation on seven days’ notice instead of 28 days; and what measures they are taking to ensure that this policy change does not place unnecessary pressures on local authority homelessness services and the voluntary sector.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
An individual remains eligible for asylum support for a prescribed period from the day they are notified of the decision on their asylum claim. Where someone is given notice that their asylum claim has been granted, their appeal has been allowed or their asylum claim has been refused but they have been given leave to enter or remain, the prescribed period in legislation is 28 days. There has been no change to the prescribed period.
Individuals should make plans to move on from asylum support as quickly as possible. We offer support through Migrant Help or their partner organisation in doing this. This includes providing advice on accessing the labour market, on applying for Universal Credit and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing. Newly recognised refugees are entitled to housing assistance from their local authority and are treated as a priority need if they have children or are considered vulnerable. Individuals do not need to wait for their BRP to make a claim for benefits and are encouraged to do so as early as possible if they require them.
We are ensuring our cross government partners, such as the (DWP) and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) are sighted on data to enable them to consider the impacts of increased decision making and effectively plan. We are also working with DLUHC to ensure the right asylum decision data is being shared with local authorities to enable effective planning and to lessen the impact on existing homelessness and rough sleeping pressures. Our accommodation providers are directly working with local authorities to notify them when an individual is due to have their asylum support ended.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which immigration centres have painted over murals welcoming lone child refugees.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The murals in question were painted over in the Kent Intake Unit at Dover.
The overwhelming majority of unaccompanied children who passed through the location last year were largely teenagers. It was not felt that the murals were age appropriate. We provide high-quality facilities at the Kent Intake Unit, which is fully equipped to meet all the needs of unaccompanied children upon arrival in the UK. Our priority is to move children on from the facility as quickly as possible, into a suitable Local Authority placement.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with the UNHCR on the reunification of families in safe countries.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The FCDO engages systematically with partners, such as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and regularly discusses treatment of refugees, including family reunification. The UK actively promotes the implementation of the 1951 UN Refugee Convention which asserts that a refugee should not be returned to a country where they face serious threats to their life or freedom. We also provide a safe and legal route to bring families together through its family reunion policy. This allows individuals with protection status in the UK to sponsor their partner or children to stay with or join them here.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that vulnerable children are treated with decency and compassion.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office takes our duty of care towards children extremely seriously and we prioritise the safety of children and any applications from asylum seeking children.
We have robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all children in hotels are safe and supported as we seek urgent placements with a local authority. Children are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day. Further care is provided in hotels by teams of social workers and nurses. All contingency sites have security staff on site 24/7 and providers liaise closely with local police to ensure the welfare and safety of vulnerable residents
Decision makers who specifically deal with children’s claims complete additional training on Processing Children’s Asylum Claims and have additional periods of mentoring. Additionally, decision makers attend a Safeguarding Awareness training which raises awareness of responsibilities of staff who deal with non-detained individuals and aims to ensure a consistent approach to safeguarding procedures for children.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that lone child refugees held in detention centres do not feel intimidated and frightened.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We take the welfare of children incredibly seriously and that is why we have said it is not compassionate to allow people - including vulnerable children - to be risking their lives any longer. We have to break the cycle and stop the boats.
The Home Office have put in place further funding throughout 2023-24 of £6,000 for every unaccompanied child moved from a UASC hotel to a local authority within five working days to encourage quicker transfers into local authority care.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of children held longer than the time limit for detention.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We take the welfare of children incredibly seriously and that is why we have said it is not compassionate to allow people - including vulnerable children - to be risking their lives any longer. We have to break the cycle and stop the boats.
The Home Office have put in place further funding throughout 2023-24 of £6,000 for every unaccompanied child moved from a UASC hotel to a local authority within five working days to encourage quicker transfers into local authority care.