Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has plans to introduce a policy similar to Homes for Ukraine scheme for individuals from (a) Afghanistan, (b) Syria, (c) Sundan and (d) Ethiopa.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The UK continues to welcome refugees through existing resettlement schemes which are global in scope, including the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship, the Mandate Resettlement Scheme and the Family Reunion Scheme. The UK has offered a place through these routes to just under 500,000 individuals since 2015.
Under these schemes, the UNHCR will refer refugees for resettlement after undertaking an assessment of people’s needs and vulnerabilities. The UK does not seek to influence which cases are referred by the UNHCR under these global schemes.
The Community Sponsorship Scheme is open to refugees of all nationalities under the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), or the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS). As such, there are currently no plans to establish any new sponsorship schemes specifically for individuals from Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan or Ethiopia.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of current efforts to normalise relations between Syria and its Arab neighbours; and in particular, what is their assessment of the possibility of a general amnesty allowing refugees outside Syria to return home and improved humanitarian access to Syria.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Conditional engagement, tied to UNSCR 2254, is more likely to advance the political process. Conditions in Syria do not currently allow for safe return of refugees. Previous regime 'amnesties' have not been reliable. Genuine progress on arbitrary detention, missing persons and the justice sector would help to establish conditions to enable returns. While we welcome increased humanitarian access following the February earthquakes and call for it to be sustained, we note that previous limits were due to regime and Russian obstruction.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on the number of (as) refugees and (b) asylum seekers in Bermondsey and Old Southwark constituency; and if she will provide a breakdown of those who are from (i) Yemen, (ii) Eritrea, (iii) Afghanistan, (iv) Syria and (v) Libya.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at : https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets#local-authority-data (table Asy_D11).
We do publish details of the nationality of asylum seekers at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets (table Asy_D01 for all asylum seekers,:Asy_D09 for asylum seekers on support), but not by location. These figures are not available in a reportable format and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Data are published on a quarterly basis, with the next quarterly figures due to be released in late May 2023.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to Written Answer by Lord Murray of Blidworth on 24 March (HL6373), why, over the past 13 years, they have allowed the UK to have a "broken asylum system".
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The significant increase in dangerous journeys across the Channel is placing unprecedented strain on our asylum system. Those in need of protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach rather than risking their lives or paying people smugglers to make the dangerous journey across the Channel.
The UK has a proud history of supporting refugees and since 2015, we have offered a place to just under half a million men, women and children seeking safety – including those from Hong Kong, Syria, Afghanistan, and Ukraine, as well as family members of refugees
Our focus will remain on helping people directly from regions of conflict and instability, as the best way to help the most vulnerable who are at risk of war and persecution is through safe and legal routes.
This bypasses the evil criminal gangs and protects vulnerable people, including children.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to offer safe and legal routes for asylum seekers coming from countries without an active resettlement scheme.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Between 2015 and December 2022, just under half a million people were offered safe and legal routes into the UK– including those from Hong Kong, Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine as well as family members of refugees.
This includes the granting of approximate 45,000 family reunion visas to the family members of refugees.
This also includes over 28,200 refugees resettled through the government’s refugee resettlement schemes. The UK is one of the largest recipients of UNHCR referred refugees globally, second only to Sweden in Europe since 2015.
The UK continues to welcome refugees and people in need through existing resettlement schemes which include the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship, the Mandate Resettlement Scheme and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS).
Further information on existing safe and legal routes is available below:
Asked by: Lord Strasburger (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the legal methods for refugees who are citizens of Somalia, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Eritrea, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Myanmar or the Democratic Republic of the Congo to apply for asylum in the UK when they are (1) living in the country of their citizenship, (2) living in a safe third country, or (3) living in an unsafe third country.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
Whilst we sympathise with people in many difficult situations around the world, we are not bound to consider asylum claims from the very large numbers of people overseas who might like to come here. Asylum is for people in danger in their home country. Those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach – that is the fastest route to safety.
Between 2015 and December 2022, just under half a million people were offered safe and legal routes into the UK– including those from Hong Kong, Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine as well as family members of refugees.
This includes over 28,200 refugees resettled through the government’s refugee resettlement schemes. Our family reunion policy has also reunited many refugees with their family members; we have issued over 44,659 visas under our refugee family reunion Rules since 2015. The UK is one of the largest recipients of UNHCR referred refugees globally, second only to Sweden in Europe since 2015.
The UK continues to welcome refugees and people in need through existing resettlement schemes which include the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship, the Mandate Resettlement Scheme and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS).
Further information on existing safe and legal routes is available below:
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which countries the 887 refugees who were granted resettlement through the UK Resettlement Scheme in 2022 come from.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The Home Office publishes data on resettlement in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’ on GOV.uk. Data on refugees resettled under the UK Resettlement Scheme by nationality and host country can be found in table Asy_D02 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’ on GOV.uk. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. The latest data relate to the year ending December 2022.
The top 5 nationalities resettled under the UK Resettlement Scheme in 2022 were Syria, Sudan, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The top 5 host countries where refugees were identified as requiring resettlement by the UNHCR in 2022 were Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, and Iraq.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they intend to have with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees regarding (1) the need for food and medical supplies for, and (2) the plans for resettlement of, the approximately 7,500 internally displaced people in the Rukban Camp on the Syria/Jordan border.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The situation in Rukban is an issue the UK Government continues to discuss with the UN as well as raising in multilateral fora such as the UN Security Council and the Humanitarian Task Force in Geneva. We will continue to advocate for unimpeded, unfettered aid access across the whole of Syria including Rukban and remain grateful for the UN's continued work to find a solution to an extremely challenging situation. We will continue to engage with the UN to ensure that any movement of camp residents to other parts of Syria is safe, voluntary and informed.
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: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential link between the level of UK aid spending between 2020 and 2021 on the spread of antimicrobial resistance and the risk of drug-resistant infections in refugee camps in low and middle-income countries.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
In 2021, the UK was the third largest development donor in the G7 as a percentage of GNI, spending over £11 billion on aid. The UK is committed to the global eradication of antimicrobial resistance and supports a wide range of activities to do this.
Through our £265m ODA Fleming Fund, the UK builds partnerships with LMICs to strengthen AMR surveillance, diagnostics and laboratory capacity. The Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF), another UK aid fund, supports early-stage innovative research in underfunded areas of AMR research and development for the benefit of people in low- and middle-income countries.
We have also used our aid budget to reduce the risks of antimicrobial resistance by helping prevent the emergence and spread of infectious diseases. Between April 2020 and December 2021, in partnership with Unilever the UK reached over 4 million refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) with handwashing messages to prevent the spread of infection in countries such as Bangladesh, Cameroon, Syria, South Sudan and Yemen. The UK also supports the work of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organisation for Migration and the Red Cross Movement, each of which include work on water, sanitation and hygiene as part of their programming and support displaced persons, including refugees and migrants in camps.