Asked by: Baroness Afshar (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they have put in place to protect Muslim citizens from verbal and physical attack and abuse on religious grounds.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Government deplores all hate crime including Islamophobia and is committed to tackling it. Nobody should be a target for hate because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or disability.
We have a strong legal framework in place with criminal penalties for offences such as incitement to religious hatred, racially or religiously aggravated offences such as intentionally causing harassment, alarm or distress, as well as increased sentences for offences motivated by prejudice hostility or prejudice based on a person’s real or perceived religion.
We support Tell MAMA in their work to encourage greater reporting of anti-Muslim hatred and to support victims of hate crime. We also fund projects such as Streetwise and the Anne Frank Trust to work with young people to tackle prejudice and discrimination which may lay the foundations for hate crime in the future.
If anyone feels they have been a victim of hate crime, they should report this directly to their local police force, through the online True Vision portal or to Tell MAMA, who will be able to provide assistance and proceed appropriately.
Asked by: Baroness Afshar (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 18 June, whether they will take steps to improve the treatment by immigration officers of British citizens accompanying non-British born spouses entering the UK; and what those measures will be.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Border Force expects high standards of professionalism of its officers in their dealings with all members of the public, regardless of their nationality or status.
Border Force follows strict guidelines with regards to discrimination, and officers undergo intensive training prior to taking up their positions. Border Force does not tolerate any breach of these principles.
Complaints about Border Force and the services it provides are treated seriously and are used as an opportunity to improve services.
Asked by: Baroness Afshar (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the safe and timely return of passports submitted to the Home Office by spouses of British citizens wishing to come to the UK.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Passports submitted by the spouses of British Citizens who are applying to come to the UK are usually held at an UKVI Decision Making Centre pending a decision being made.
The passports are stored securely and returned to customers directly by courier or via a Visa Application Centre at various locations overseas once the consideration process is completed. The transfer and transit of passports between Decision Making Centres and the Visa Applications Centres is closely monitored and records of each shipment move are kept.
There is also the opportunity where UKVI can assess applications from digital images of passports. However, the physical passport is required for UKVI to affix a vignette when a decision is made.
In most locations there is an option for customers to keep their passport until a decision has been made on their application with payment of an additional fee.