Asked by: Lord Bishop of Chelmsford (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of their rough sleeping statistics on 29 February which showed a 965.91 per cent increase from July to December 2023 in people sleeping rough after leaving asylum support over the previous 85 days, what consideration they have given to extending the move-on period from 28 days to 56 days for refugees leaving asylum support; and what assessment they have made of the impact this extension would have on homelessness.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Second Permanent Secretary and I recently met with the Bishop of London to discuss the Government support available to newly recognised refugees moving on from asylum accommodation.
Following the service of an asylum decision, an individual continues to be an asylum seeker for the purpose of asylum support until the end of the relevant prescribed period set out in legislation. This period is 28 calendar days from when an individual is notified of a decision to accept their asylum claim and grant them leave and we have no plans to extend this period. Whilst our legislative power is clear, we do in practice already extend support beyond this. Our current process means that individuals can remain on asylum support for at least 28 days after they have been issued a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP), which means that individuals have longer than 28 days to make arrangements to move on before their asylum support ends. It is important that individuals initiate plans to move on from asylum support as soon as they are served their asylum decision in order to maximise the time they have to make move on arrangements.
We offer move on support to all individuals through Migrant Help or their partner organisation. This includes providing advice on accessing the labour market, on applying for Universal Credit and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing. 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 continue to identify and make efficiencies in supporting newly recognised refugees during the move on period and to mitigate the risk of homelessness. We are fully committed to working with partners in doing this. We have already worked closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (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. We are also utilising Home Office Liaison Officers to replicate part of the Afghan resettlement move on process. We have been working in three local authority areas since December 2023; Glasgow, Brent and Hillingdon. This has now been expanded to Manchester and Liverpool.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Chelmsford (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to work with the third sector to jointly create a comprehensive and properly funded transition process for people whose asylum support is due to end, to enable information and support around housing and benefits to be given as far in advance as possible.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Second Permanent Secretary and I recently met with the Bishop of London to discuss the Government support available to newly recognised refugees moving on from asylum accommodation.
Following the service of an asylum decision, an individual continues to be an asylum seeker for the purpose of asylum support until the end of the relevant prescribed period set out in legislation. This period is 28 calendar days from when an individual is notified of a decision to accept their asylum claim and grant them leave and we have no plans to extend this period. Whilst our legislative power is clear, we do in practice already extend support beyond this. Our current process means that individuals can remain on asylum support for at least 28 days after they have been issued a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP), which means that individuals have longer than 28 days to make arrangements to move on before their asylum support ends. It is important that individuals initiate plans to move on from asylum support as soon as they are served their asylum decision in order to maximise the time they have to make move on arrangements.
We offer move on support to all individuals through Migrant Help or their partner organisation. This includes providing advice on accessing the labour market, on applying for Universal Credit and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing. 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 continue to identify and make efficiencies in supporting newly recognised refugees during the move on period and to mitigate the risk of homelessness. We are fully committed to working with partners in doing this. We have already worked closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (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. We are also utilising Home Office Liaison Officers to replicate part of the Afghan resettlement move on process. We have been working in three local authority areas since December 2023; Glasgow, Brent and Hillingdon. This has now been expanded to Manchester and Liverpool.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Chelmsford (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefits of staggering evictions of refugees from Home Office accommodation, particularly where the person is working with their local authority or a third sector organisation, to prevent their homelessness.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Second Permanent Secretary and I recently met with the Bishop of London to discuss the Government support available to newly recognised refugees moving on from asylum accommodation.
Following the service of an asylum decision, an individual continues to be an asylum seeker for the purpose of asylum support until the end of the relevant prescribed period set out in legislation. This period is 28 calendar days from when an individual is notified of a decision to accept their asylum claim and grant them leave and we have no plans to extend this period. Whilst our legislative power is clear, we do in practice already extend support beyond this. Our current process means that individuals can remain on asylum support for at least 28 days after they have been issued a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP), which means that individuals have longer than 28 days to make arrangements to move on before their asylum support ends. It is important that individuals initiate plans to move on from asylum support as soon as they are served their asylum decision in order to maximise the time they have to make move on arrangements.
We offer move on support to all individuals through Migrant Help or their partner organisation. This includes providing advice on accessing the labour market, on applying for Universal Credit and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing. 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 continue to identify and make efficiencies in supporting newly recognised refugees during the move on period and to mitigate the risk of homelessness. We are fully committed to working with partners in doing this. We have already worked closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (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. We are also utilising Home Office Liaison Officers to replicate part of the Afghan resettlement move on process. We have been working in three local authority areas since December 2023; Glasgow, Brent and Hillingdon. This has now been expanded to Manchester and Liverpool.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing exit plans from hotel accommodation to give settled residents 56 days notice.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Since September 2023, all individuals receive a minimum of 28 days’ support (including accommodation) after being issued with a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP). There are no current plans to extend the 28 days prescribed in legislation due to the huge pressures on the asylum system.
We offer move on support to all individuals through Migrant Help or their partner organisation. This includes providing advice on accessing the labour market, on applying for Universal Credit and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing. 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 work closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (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. We are working with our partners, including local authorities, to provide timely notification of key events that impact them. We are working with our Strategic Migration Partners (SMPs) to facilitate regional sessions with councils and to share data.
We are also utilising Home Office Liaison Officers (HOLOs) to replicate part of the Afghan resettlement move on process. We have been working in three local authority areas since December 2023; Glasgow, Brent and Hillingdon. This has now been expanded to Manchester and Liverpool.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her Department's response on 11 February 2019 to the Work and Pensions Committee's 2018 report on Benefit Sanctions, for what reason her Department has not granted researchers at the University of Glasgow access to data on Universal Credit claims and sanctions histories for Scottish Universal Credit claimants to support their study into the health impacts of benefit sanctions; and if she will take steps to make that data available to those researchers in a timely manner.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Department has taken the decision not to proceed with this data sharing project and has communicated this with the University.
Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when her Department plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Glasgow East to the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work sent on 1 February 2022 and sent by email on 8 March 2022 and 21 March 2022, reference DL10869.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
A reply was sent to the hon. Member by the Area Director for Universal Credit, on behalf of the Secretary of State, on 26 March 2022.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were in receipt of universal credit at the start of February 2021 in Glasgow.
Answered by Will Quince
The available information on the number of people on Universal Credit, by local authority, is published monthly and can be found at:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html
Note:
The latest statistics show those on Universal Credit as at 14 January 2021. Statistics for
February 2021 will be published in March 2021.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants in Glasgow are in receipt of universal credit.
Answered by Will Quince
The available information on the number of people on Universal Credit, by local authority, is published monthly and can be found at:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html
Note:
The latest statistics show those on Universal Credit as at 14 January 2021. Statistics for
February 2021 will be published in March 2021.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have been awarded (a) personal independence payment, (b) employment support allowance and (c) the limited capability for work element of universal credit following a (i) telephone and (ii) paper based assessment in (A) the UK, (B) Scotland and (C) Glasgow South West constituency since 19 March 2020.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
The latest available information on assessment outcomes for Personal Independence Payment and Employment and Support Allowance, for various geographical areas, is published and can be found at:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/login.xhtml
Guidance for users is available at:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants are awaiting an assessment for (a) personal independence payment, (b) employment support allowance, and (c) the limited capability for work element of universal credit in (i) the UK, (ii) Scotland, and (iii) Glasgow South West constituency.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The number of individuals awaiting an assessment can be found below. However, we are unable to provide data at constituency level or to separate out individuals for the Limited Capability for Work element of UC. I have therefore provided the total number of individuals claiming UC awaiting an assessment.
(a) As of the 27 April 2020, the number of individuals claiming PIP with either an assessment scheduled or awaiting scheduling in the UK was 166,630. This PIP data does not include Northern Ireland. 20,870 of these cases were in Scotland.
(b) As of the 4 May 2020, the number of individuals claiming ESA with either an assessment scheduled or awaiting scheduling in the UK was 101,910. 14,460 of these cases were in Scotland.
(c) As of the 4 May 2020, the number of individuals claiming UC with either an assessment scheduled or awaiting scheduling in the UK was 121,640. 13,510 of these cases were in Scotland.
Data supplied by Assessment Provider reports, and rounded to the nearest 10.
Please note this is unpublished data.
The latest published journey time for PIP is 8 weeks on average for a new claim assessment and 10 weeks for a DLA to PIP reassessment (based on the latest published data) and 9 weeks for ESA and we are working with our suppliers to ensure those claimants currently going through the assessment journey are seen as quickly as possible.