Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funds he plans to provide for the UK’s Global Refugee Forum 2023 pledge on continued support for the integration of refugees in the UK.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
As pledged at the Global Refugee Forum 2023, the Government remains committed to enabling resettled refugees in rebuilding their lives in the UK. That is why refugees, as well as individuals arriving via our resettlement schemes with Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK, have access to mainstream benefits and services to support their integration.
The Home Office also provides local authorities with a core tariff of £20,520 per person to cover resettlement and integration costs for those who arrive through the UK Resettlement Scheme, the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme or the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy. In the first year, local authorities also receive up to £4,500 per child for education and £850 to cover additional English language provision for adults, and health partners receive £2,600 per individual to cover healthcare.
Those granted protection through the asylum system are offered support from Migrant Help or their partner organisation. This support includes providing advice on accessing the labour market, on applying for Universal Credit, and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing.
Refugees who arrived through safe and legal routes or were granted Refugee Permission to Stay on or after 28 June 2022 have access to the Refugee Employability Programme (REP). This launched in England in September 2023 and delivers a range of activities to support refugees, including employment, English language and integration support.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding he plans to allocate to refugee integration in 2024.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
As pledged at the Global Refugee Forum 2023, the Government remains committed to enabling resettled refugees in rebuilding their lives in the UK. That is why refugees, as well as individuals arriving via our resettlement schemes with Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK, have access to mainstream benefits and services to support their integration.
The Home Office also provides local authorities with a core tariff of £20,520 per person to cover resettlement and integration costs for those who arrive through the UK Resettlement Scheme, the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme or the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy. In the first year, local authorities also receive up to £4,500 per child for education and £850 to cover additional English language provision for adults, and health partners receive £2,600 per individual to cover healthcare.
Those granted protection through the asylum system are offered support from Migrant Help or their partner organisation. This support includes providing advice on accessing the labour market, on applying for Universal Credit, and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing.
Refugees who arrived through safe and legal routes or were granted Refugee Permission to Stay on or after 28 June 2022 have access to the Refugee Employability Programme (REP). This launched in England in September 2023 and delivers a range of activities to support refugees, including employment, English language and integration support.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of Palestinian refugees on regional stability in the Middle East.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Government firmly rejects any suggestion of the resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza.
Gaza is Occupied Palestinian Territory and will be part of a future Palestinian state. We support a two-state solution that guarantees security and stability for both the Israeli and Palestinian people.
Our position is that settlements are illegal. No Palestinian should be threatened with forcible displacement or relocation.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the contribution by the Minister for Immigration to the debate on Safe Asylum Routes: Afghan Refugees of 17 October 2023, official report, column 54WH, what progress he has made with Cabinet colleagues on reuniting Afghans evacuated under Operation Pitting in August 2021 with family members.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The government remains committed to providing protection for vulnerable and at-risk people fleeing Afghanistan. The situation is complex and presents significant challenges, including how those who are eligible for resettlement in the UK can leave the country. This includes eligible immediate family members of those being resettled under the ACRS.
For those evacuated from Afghanistan under ACRS P1 without their immediate family members, the Home Secretary has committed to establishing a route for separated families to be reunited. We expect to receive referrals in the first half of 2024.
Individuals remaining in Afghanistan or elsewhere are not obliged to wait for the pathway for eligible family members of ACRS P1 to open. Appendix FM, for example, provides a route for those seeking to enter the UK on the basis of their family life.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to ensure that all those seeking to make an asylum claim have a safe and clear route to do so.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
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 European Convention on Human Rights. Since 2015, we have offered over half a million people a safe and legal route to the UK. With the scale of disruption and the lamentable situations that too many people find themselves in across the globe, we will never be able to provide a route for all or that meets every eventuality.
Through the cap on safe and legal routes, we are seeking to get a better idea on the capacity of local authorities to resettle refugees. By setting the cap, based on the actual capacity of the UK, we can continue to welcome people to the UK in a sustainable way and put the UK’s resettlement model on a stable and predictable footing. The consultation with local authorities is now closed. The final figure will be agreed to by Parliament. Parliament will have an opportunity to debate and vote on the cap before it comes into force.
It is only by bearing down on illegal migration, and through reverting to more sustainable management of our safe and legal routes through the cap, that we can continue to focus on helping people directly from regions of conflict and instability. We believe our resettlement schemes are the best way to provide much needed support for those who need it.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of Afghan refugees arrived in the UK (a) from Pakistan and (b) by other routes in each month since November 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The UK made an ambitious and generous commitment to help resettle.
Afghans fleeing persecution and those who served the UK. The latest published Immigration system statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab) show we have brought around 24,600 people to safety, including over 21,600 people eligible for the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) schemes, as of September 2023.
It is not possible to provide a breakdown or running commentary on Afghans who have arrived in the UK specifically from Pakistan or via other routes since November 2023. This is due to this being ongoing operational data. The next release of Afghan Operational Data is due around 22 February 2024.
The Government is committed to relocating all eligible persons who remain in Pakistan and third countries as soon as possible.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any Afghan refugees were (a) placed in and (b) returned to bridging hotels in the period since September 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The UK has made an ambitious and generous commitment to help at-risk people in Afghanistan and, so far, we have brought around 24,600 people to safety, including thousands of people eligible for our Afghan schemes. We continue to honour our commitments to bring eligible Afghans to the UK.
As of 31 August 2023, we successfully ended the use of bridging hotels for legally resettled Afghans, with the overwhelming majority of those being resettled now having moved into settled accommodation. We have now provided these Afghans with the homes they need to begin the next chapter of their life in the UK, fully integrate, find employment and provide their children with stability.
Whilst we cannot confirm the longest length of stay in bridging accommodation, our statistics show that the earliest record of an Afghan in bridging accommodation was in the second quarter of 2021.
The Home Office publish data on Afghan resettlement in the Immigration System Statistics release. In table Asy_D02 of the asylum and resettlement detailed datasets, you can view the number of Afghans resettled, by when they arrived in the UK (quarterly breakdowns) and what type of accommodation they were recorded in as of the date of the data extraction (currently the data is as of 30 September 2023). The next Immigration Statistics are due for release around 22 February 2024.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghan refugees housed in interim hotel accommodation were aged (a) zero to three, (b) three to five, (c) five to ten, (d) 10 to 15 and (e) 15 to 18 years old as of 26 December 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The UK made an ambitious and generous commitment to help resettle Afghans fleeing persecution and those who served in the UK. Since June 2021, we have brought 24,500 people to safety to the UK.
1,674 people, around half of whom are children, were living in interim accommodation (i.e., hotels/serviced accommodation) at the end of September 2023.
For information on individuals within interim accommodation, including nationality, age, and sex breakdowns, see table Asy_D02 of the asylum and resettlement detailed datasets: Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
For data on those in accommodation by location, see the regional and local authority immigration groups data tables.
We are unable to provide a running commentary on interim accommodation and settled accommodation occupation. The next release of Afghan Operational Data is due for release around 22 February 2024.
Local authorities receive integration tariff funding of £20,520 per person, over three years, for each Afghan family they resettle and provide full integration support for this duration. They have the flexibility to use this funding to contribute towards renting accommodation, including deposit, letting fees and necessary furnishings.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghan refugees were housed in interim hotel accommodation as of (a) 5 December 2023, (b) 12 December 2023, (c) 19 December 2023, (d) 26 December 2023 and (e) 31 December 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The UK made an ambitious and generous commitment to help resettle Afghans fleeing persecution and those who served in the UK. Since June 2021, we have brought 24,500 people to safety to the UK.
1,674 people, around half of whom are children, were living in interim accommodation (i.e., hotels/serviced accommodation) at the end of September 2023.
For information on individuals within interim accommodation, including nationality, age, and sex breakdowns, see table Asy_D02 of the asylum and resettlement detailed datasets: Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
For data on those in accommodation by location, see the regional and local authority immigration groups data tables.
We are unable to provide a running commentary on interim accommodation and settled accommodation occupation. The next release of Afghan Operational Data is due for release around 22 February 2024.
Local authorities receive integration tariff funding of £20,520 per person, over three years, for each Afghan family they resettle and provide full integration support for this duration. They have the flexibility to use this funding to contribute towards renting accommodation, including deposit, letting fees and necessary furnishings.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghan refugees who left hotel accommodation between 1 and 31 December 2023 have found permanent accommodation in the same local authority area.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The UK made an ambitious and generous commitment to help resettle Afghans fleeing persecution and those who served in the UK. Since June 2021, we have brought 24,500 people to safety to the UK.
1,674 people, around half of whom are children, were living in interim accommodation (i.e., hotels/serviced accommodation) at the end of September 2023.
For information on individuals within interim accommodation, including nationality, age, and sex breakdowns, see table Asy_D02 of the asylum and resettlement detailed datasets: Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
For data on those in accommodation by location, see the regional and local authority immigration groups data tables.
We are unable to provide a running commentary on interim accommodation and settled accommodation occupation. The next release of Afghan Operational Data is due for release around 22 February 2024.
Local authorities receive integration tariff funding of £20,520 per person, over three years, for each Afghan family they resettle and provide full integration support for this duration. They have the flexibility to use this funding to contribute towards renting accommodation, including deposit, letting fees and necessary furnishings.