Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, other than for asylum seekers from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, what are the safe and legal routes into the UK for those seeking asylum.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
The UK has a proud record of providing protection for people fleeing war and persecution. 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. Those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach as that is the fastest route to safety.
In addition to dedicated resettlement schemes for Syria, Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Ukraine, the UK welcomes refugees and people in need of protection through the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship, Family Reunion, and Mandate Resettlement Schemes. These are global routes which have allowed thousands of people fleeing war and persecution to rebuild their lives in the UK.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in the Middle East on how the UK can help tackle changes in the rate of HIV transmission in the region.
Answered by David Rutley
The UK funds organisations that tackle the HIV epidemic globally including the Global Fund, UNAIDS and the Robert Carr Foundation. The Global Fund is a high performing organisation that has saved 50 million lives to date. The UK is the organisation's third largest donor historically, investing over £4.5 billion since 2002. The Global Fund Middle East Response Initiative was designed to provide essential HIV, TB and malaria services to key and vulnerable populations including refugees, internally displaced people, women, children and other populations in Iraq, OPTs, Syria and Yemen, as well as to Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon. The UK continues to encourage close regional cooperation to tackle the rate of HIV transmission in the Middle East.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the statement by the Commissioner-General for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) on 17 November that the global economic situation has pushed the agency into a "danger zone", whether they have held any emergency meetings with UN partner countries to discuss funding for that agency.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We are longstanding supporters of The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and their work to provide essential services to 5.8 million Palestinian refugees across the OPTs, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. We are aware that the agency has faced funding shortfalls in recent years, which has made it even more challenging to continue service delivery. At the UNRWA pledging conference in New York in June 2022, we announced a new multi-year funding programme with the agency and will provide £15m in 2022. On 22 September in New York, I [Lord Ahmad] attended a Ministerial dialogue on UNRWA's financial situation where I reiterated UK support for the agency and the need for the international community to support it to be on a more viable financial footing.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2022 to Question 59761 on Occupied Territories: Refugees, if he will publish the search terms that will identify that information on DevTracker relating to financial years 2021-22 and 2022-23.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The data for UK contributions to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) during financial years 2021-22 and 2022-23 are available through the following links.
Supporting Palestinian refugees across the Middle East - in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria: DevTracker Programme GB-1-204546 (fcdo.gov.uk) - https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk/projects/GB-1-204546/summary
UK Support to Palestinian Refugees (UKSPR) 2022-2025: DevTracker Programme GB-GOV-1-301283 (fcdo.gov.uk) - https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk/projects/GB-GOV-1-301283/summary
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the establishment of a joint Lebanon, Syria, and UN Committee to oversee the return of refugees to Syria; and what plans they have to call on the Committee to ensure that all returns are voluntary.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK recognises the generosity shown by neighbouring countries in the region who are hosting so many Syrian refugees. Whilst we hope that Syria refugees will ultimately be able to return home, the UK agrees with the UN judgement that conditions in Syria do not currently allow this. In light of recent announcements from the Government of Lebanon on its plan for the return of Syrian refugees, we urge that international law is respected and that any refugee returns are voluntary, safe and dignified. This is only likely to happen at scale in the event of a credible and inclusive political settlement. The UK will continue to support Syria's neighbours to deal with the destabilising impact of the Syrian conflict, equipping host communities, and enabling Syrian refugees to remain in the region until they can return safely to Syria.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to expand the terms of reference of the UK Resettlement Scheme; whether the Scheme is available to (1) British nationals, and (2) the children of British nationals, in detention camps in North-East Syria; and if so, what plans they have to communicate this to such individuals.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The UK is a global leader in resettlement. Since 2015, we have resettled more than 27,000 refugees through safe and legal routes direct from regions of conflict and instability - around half of whom were children.
There are currently no plans to expand the terms of reference of the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS). The UK will continue to work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to receive referrals of vulnerable refugees from across the globe.
Our approach is to resettle refugees in line with the global need identified by UNHCR who will refer individuals in accordance with their standard resettlement categories and policies, based on an assessment of protection needs and vulnerabilities.
British nationals or their dependants would not be referred for resettlement under the UKRS. However, the government does seek to facilitate the return of British orphans and unaccompanied minors from North-East Syria where feasible, subject to national security concerns, and on a case-by-case basis. In line with this policy, the government has already facilitated the return of several orphaned and unaccompanied British children to the UK and will continue to do so.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will list all the safe and legal routes for asylum seekers from (1) Afghanistan, (2) Syria, and (3) Yemen, which would allow them to claim asylum in the UK (a) on arrival, or (b) prior to their departure from their country of origin.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The UK welcomes refugees and people in need of protection through its existing resettlement schemes. The government encourages eligible individuals to use established safe and legal pathways. These include the UK Resettlement Scheme, Community Sponsorship, Mandate Resettlement Scheme, the Afghanistan Citizens Resettlement Scheme and the Afghanistan Relocations and Assistance Policy.
In addition to our refugee resettlement schemes, family reunion policy allows a spouse/partner and children under 18 of those granted protection in the UK to join them here if they formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country.
With worldwide displacement now standing at around 80 million people we cannot help everyone. We will, however, continue to maintain clear, well-defined safe, and legal routes for people who need protection. Access to the UK’s asylum system should be based on need, not on the ability to pay people smugglers. Those already in a safe country should claim asylum there.
While we do not allow asylum claims from abroad, all asylum claims lodged from within the UK and admitted to the UK asylum system are given full and careful consideration so that we do not remove anyone who faces persecution or serious harm on return to their country of origin.
Our guidance for considering asylum claims is available on GOV.UK.
More information on safe and legal routes is available via the link below:
Nationality and Borders Bill: Factsheet Safe and Legal Routes - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Lord Rosser (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many refugees from (1) Ukraine, (2) Afghanistan, and (3) Syria, have been helped through either (a) the Homes for Ukraine scheme, (b) the Ukraine Family Scheme, (c) the Afghans Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme, (d) the Afghans Relocation and Assistance Policy, or (e) the Syrian Resettlement Programme, since each of those respective schemes began.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Information on the number of visas granted under the Ukraine Family Scheme and the Homes for Ukraine Scheme can be found in our published data on the GOV.UK webpage: Ukraine Family Scheme and Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (Homes for Ukraine) visa data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Work is underway to assure information relating to all the individuals relocated under the ARAP and ACRS on case working systems. Once this work concludes, statistics on both schemes - including the number of people resettled under each - will be included in future editions of the Immigration Statistics.
The Home Office publishes data on resettlement in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on refugees resettled in the UK by scheme can be found in table Asy_D02 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’. 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 March 2022. Data for June 2022 will be published on 25 August 2022. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the levels of repatriation of European citizens, in particular women and children, who were held in closed camps in north-east Syria; and what representations they have received from (1) Save the Children, and (2) others, on this issue.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK continues to work with and learn from our international partners on a range of issues to help address the difficult situation in north east Syria, including in relation to camps for displaced persons, where we continue to provide humanitarian assistance. We are aware of a number of reports that have been published on this issue, including by Save the Children. It is ultimately a matter for individual countries how they address any situations involving their nationals, including, where applicable, repatriation to the country of origin.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what additional housing they are planning, together with (1) local authorities, (2) the Housing Corporation, and (3) others, in light of the arrival of more refugees from (a) Afghanistan, (b) Ukraine, and (c) Hong Kong, and other long-term visa holders.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
The UK has a long and proud history of welcoming migrants including recent arrivals from Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria and Hong Kong. All conflict and threat situations are unique and require unique and tailored responses, including different levels of required housing support and different means of providing this.
We are actively exploring options to provide suitable settled homes for refugees in housing need, which support their integration and access to education and employment.
In the longer-term, the provision of affordable housing is a key element of the Government's plan to end the housing crisis, tackle homelessness and provide aspiring homeowners with a step onto the housing ladder. Our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) will provide up to 180,000 new homes across the country, should economic conditions allow. Around half the homes will be for affordable and social rent and we will deliver more than double the amount of social rent compared to the current programme, with around 32,000 social rent homes due to be delivered.