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Written Question
Migrant Workers: Health Services and Social Services
Tuesday 12th July 2022

Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many of the total number of Health and Care Worker visas issued in Q1 2022 were issued to people due to work in (1) the health sector, and (2) the social care sector.

Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)

The Home Office publishes data on Health and Care Worker visas in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’.

Data on the number of Health and Care visas issued are published in table Vis_D02 of the ‘entry clearance visa applications and outcomes detailed datasets’. Data on work sectors can be found in table CoS_D01 of the ‘Work sponsorship (Certificate of Sponsorship)’ dataset. Information on how to use these datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to year ending March 2022.

Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

The Home Office does not publish the number of Health and Care worker visas granted by sector.

The published sector (industry) data show visa applications where a certificate of sponsorship was used. The ‘Human Health and Social Work Activities’ sector cannot be disaggregated to differentiate social care from health.


Written Question
Refugees: Children
Thursday 14th May 2020

Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many unaccompanied migrant children from refugee camps in Greece they have committed to allow into the UK since 1 January; when such children will be received in the UK; how many of those children they decided to allow into the UK as a direct result of COVID-19.

Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)

The Home Office does not hold detailed information on the location of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children within European Member States.

The Home Office publishes data on the Dublin III Regulation on an annual basis (each February) in the Immigration Statistics This includes data on the number of requests to transfer into and out of the UK and the number acceptances and transfers into and out of, broken down by article. The latest data, covering up to 2019, can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets#dublin-regulation

Instructions on how to use the data can be found in the ‘Notes’ sheet.

Despite Covid-19 restrictions, the UK remains fully committed to meeting our obligations under the Dublin III Regulation. Arrangements to complete a transfer have always been and still are the responsibility of the sending State who have 6 months to enact transfer after acceptance. We continue to liaise with our counterparts in Member States so that we can effect transfers as soon as it is safe and practical to do so.

The Government remains committed to relocating the specified number of 480 unaccompanied children from Europe to the UK under Section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 (‘the Dubs amendment’). Over 220 children were transferred to the UK under section 67 when the Calais camp was cleared in late 2016. Since then we have continued to make further progress with participating States including Greece, to move closer to achieving this commitment.


Written Question
Coronavirus: Greece
Thursday 14th May 2020

Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the difficulties of social distancing in refugee camps in Greece, what (1) financial, (2) medical, and (3) infrastructure, support they have provided in such camps.

Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)

The UK has a strong bilateral relationship with Greece and continues to offer support and exchange expertise on effective migration management to alleviate the pressures on the islands. In previous years, this has included expert deployments to advise on camp security and functioning, and translators to assist with the processing of arriving migrants. Current UK humanitarian support includes a UK Border Force cutter to conduct search and rescue in the Aegean, as well as over £500,000 of humanitarian supplies.

The UK Government is concerned about the risk of coronavirus in relation to the migrant camps on the islands. The Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum has enacted emergency measures to contain potential coronavirus outbreaks in the migrant camps, including the provision of additional medical facilities and staff through the EU’s Emergency Support Instrument – these measures have so far been effective and there are currently no reported cases of COVID-19 in the camps on the Greek islands. Our Embassy in Athens continues to closely follow developments.

In total, the EU has provided 700 million euros, half of it immediately on 3 March 2020, to help Greece manage the current migrant situation and COVID-19. The UK Government currently has no plans to provide funds to Greece for development of infrastructure.


Written Question
Law and Order: Cross Border Cooperation
Tuesday 18th June 2019

Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what access UK law enforcement agencies will have to (1) the EU Passenger Name Record, (2) the European Arrest Warrant, (3) Europol, and (4) Eurojust, in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)

The Government’s position remains that leaving with a deal, which includes ambitious internal security arrangements, is in the UK’s best interests. If we leave the EU without a deal, the UK would cease to participate in or have access to the EU’s law enforcement measures and agencies on exit – including the Directive on use of Passenger Name Record data, the European Arrest Warrant, Europol, and Eurojust.

In respect of a possible no deal scenario, the Home Office has been working with operational and other partners to put in place contingency arrangements to transition our cooperation to non-EU channels. We continue to work closely with partners to maintain readiness for a range of possible exit scenarios in October, including no deal.


Written Question
Law and Order: Cross Border Cooperation
Tuesday 18th June 2019

Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what access UK law enforcement agencies will have to the EU tools currently assisting in the fight against international crime and terrorism in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)

The Government’s position remains that leaving with a deal, which includes ambitious internal security arrangements, is in the UK’s best interests. If we leave the EU without a deal, the UK would cease to have access to the EU’s law enforcement tools on exit.

In respect of a possible no deal scenario, the Home Office has been working with operational partners to put in place contingency arrangements to transition our cooperation with EU Member States to non-EU channels. We continue to work closely with operational partners to maintain readiness for a range of possible exit scenarios in October, including no deal. However, much of our counter-terrorism cooperation with our European partners takes place outside EU structures and is not dependent on our membership.


Written Question
Law and Order: Cross Border Cooperation
Tuesday 18th June 2019

Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what access they anticipate UK law enforcement agencies would have in the event of a no-deal Brexit to EU-wide databases, including the (1) Schengen-Information system II, (2) European Criminal Records Information System, and (3) DNA databases shared under the Prűm Convention.

Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)

The Government’s position remains that leaving with a deal, which includes ambitious internal security arrangements, is in the UK’s best interests. If we leave the EU without a deal, the UK would cease to have access to the EU’s law enforcement databases on exit – including the Schengen Information System II (SIS II) and the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS). It is worth noting that the UK is not yet live on Prüm DNA.

The Home Office has been working with operational partners to put in place contingency arrangements to transition our cooperation with EU Member States to non-EU channels in a no deal scenario. We continue to work closely with operational partners to maintain readiness for a range of possible exit scenarios in October, including no deal.


Written Question
National Security: Cross Border Cooperation
Tuesday 18th June 2019

Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government which aspects of the EU's internal security co-operation arrangements would the UK continue to be party to if the UK were to leave the EU without a deal; and what measures they plan to take to address any security issues that may arise following a no-deal Brexit.

Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)

The Government’s position remains that leaving with a deal, which includes ambitious internal security arrangements, is in the UK’s best interests. If we leave the EU without a deal, the UK would cease to have access to the EU’s internal security cooperation arrangements upon exit.

The Home Office continues to work closely with operational partners to ensure readiness for a range of possible exit scenarios in October, including no deal. We are working with these partners to put in place contingency arrangements to transition our cooperation with EU Member States to non-EU channels in a no deal scenario. In the security and law enforcement space, this would include making more use of Interpol, Council of Europe Conventions and other forms of cooperation, such as bilateral channels.